Electrofuels producer Infinium has received $75m in funding to convert waste carbon dioxide and renewable power into SAF and other low-carbon fuels.
It comes in the form of a project equity investment from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, and will be used to “realise” Infinium’s Project Roadrunner which will produce SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) for international markets.
This commercial-scale Power-to-Liquids eFuels facility is expected to be the first and largest of its kind in North America once operational.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst funds and invests in first-of-a-kind projects that support the deployment of emerging climate technologies to reduce emissions and accelerate the clean energy transition. This commitment represents Catalyst’s first equity investment to date.
Project Roadrunner, located in West Texas, will convert an existing brownfield gas-to-liquids project into a fully integrated eFuels facility that will deliver products into both US and international markets.
It will primarily produce Infinium eSAF, a sustainable aviation fuel with the potential to significantly reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with air travel.
Robert Schuetzle, CEO of Infinium, said: “The investment from Catalyst is critical to accelerating the completion of Project Roadrunner and to the delivery of significant volumes of eFuels created from waste carbon dioxide and renewable power.
“Importantly, this project will serve as a template for other, larger eFuels plants under development.”
Power-to-Liquids SAF is expected to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in aviation by around 90 per cent, which is higher than the emissions reductions achieved using sustainable fuel on the market today.
Infinium has also entered an agreement with American Airlines for eSAF, which the carrier said is a critical enabler of further investment in Project Roadrunner.
Schuetzle added that “the groundbreaking commercial agreement with American is an important prototype for the aviation industry”.
Meanwhile, the airline’s chief sustainability officer, Jill Blickstein, said: “American joined Breakthrough Energy Catalyst because we saw the potential to accelerate the commercialisation of the clean energy technologies of the future.
“[Now], we see the realisation of that potential in Catalyst’s investment in Infinium’s electrofuels SAF, coupled with American’s long-term commitment to purchase those fuels.
“Our partnership with Catalyst, and our new commitment with Infinium, exemplifies the novel collaboration necessary to bring to market the new technologies that will allow us to decarbonise.”
Image credit: @tanaonte/Adobe Stock
