Prometheus Fuels announces breakthrough eKerosene pathway
- Prometheus Fuels
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Prometheus Fuels announced Jan. 14 what it is calling a revolutionary new pathway for producing synthetic paraffinic kerosene from direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 and off-grid renewable electricity.
“The new Prometheus eKerosene pathway makes Fischer-Tropsch synthesis obsolete, reducing the cost to make eFuels by more than 80 percent compared to the century-old technology,” the company stated. “It is also the first process in history to make kerosene from electricity and atmospheric CO2 without using hydrogen. The kerosene produced is 100 percent carbon neutral.”
According to Prometheus Fuels, two independent engineering reviews confirmed demonstration of the new pathway using commercial-scale cells.
The announcement follows the company’s recent milestone achievement of completing a one-year pilot-scale demonstration of its DAC-to-fuels technology platform, producing eMethanol at its Titan Forge Alpha pilot facility.
The pilot and its operating data were validated by two independent engineering reviews in November and December.
For the first time, Prometheus is releasing details of its new 100 percent electrochemical synthetic paraffinic kerosene pathway, which uses CO2 captured from the air using the company’s proprietary “No-Desorb DAC” process.
A key breakthrough that made the new kerosene pathway possible is a process the company calls “electrochemical oligomerization.”
Oligomerization is the combining of smaller monomers into larger molecules, like hydrocarbons.
One example of this is carbon-carbon chain lengthening.
In the Fischer-Tropsch process, this chain lengthening occurs due to the high pressures and temperatures that process requires.
“It is these extreme operating conditions, which require expensive equipment and 24/7, grid-connected power, that keep the cost of Fischer-Tropsch eFuels permanently high,” the company stated. “In contrast, Prometheus has developed the ability to achieve its carbon-carbon chain lengthening using electromagnetic fields and electric currents in water at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. With these ambient operating conditions, the Prometheus process uses equipment that is much less expensive and can be powered by intermittent, off-grid solar, allowing access to the lowest energy-input costs.”
The new pathway eliminates the major cost drivers of conventional eFuels systems, according to Prometheus Fuels.
It does not desorb CO2 into a pure gas stream, does not use hydrogen, does not rely on high-temperature or high-pressure reactors and was purpose-built to operate on intermittent off-grid renewable electricity—what Prometheus calls “the cheapest electrons in the world”—avoiding the high cost and geographic constraints of being connected to a grid.
There is also no need for distillation, the company stated.
Kerosene forms directly in Prometheus’ Faraday Reactor hydrocarbon electrolyzer and self-separates from water, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, producing finished kerosene fuel, according to Prometheus.
Notably, the Prometheus eKerosene pathway has linear cost scaling, allowing it to achieve its low costs across a wide range of production scales, from pilot systems to commercial plants, the company stated.
“Our new kerosene pathway takes eFuels beyond decarbonization to direct economic competition with oil-based fuels,” said Rob McGinnis, founder and CEO of Prometheus. “Our pathway puts three holy grails of energy within reach: a new source of energy for data centers, limitless low-cost SAF, and unblockadeable fuel logistics for defense. The implications of this new technology—the advantages it creates for energy independence and national security—are profound.”
Until now, Prometheus had shared only high-level descriptions of its technology while it focused on building and securing its patent and trade-secret portfolio.
With its IP portfolio secure, Prometheus said it is able to release more details about its technology and competitive advantages in global commodity energy markets.
Prometheus is backed by top-tier investors including Maersk, BMW and Y Combinator.
