As the demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to increase substantially, Universal Fuel Technologies (Unifuel) has closed $3 million in funding for its Flexiforming technology that cuts SAF production costs by up to 50% and the related carbon emissions by up to 75%. This seed round was led by TO VC, with participation from Alchemist Accelerator, Claire Technologies, and World Star Aviation, will support the advancement of the company’s proprietary Flexiforming process and help establish lab space in Texas for SAF sample production.
Flexiforming, which features a series of chemical reactions, converts various renewable materials, including byproducts of other SAF-making technologies into high-quality SAF chemically comparable to conventional jet fuel. This paves the way for a 100% synthetic replacement compatible with the existing aircraft fleet.
Unifuel’s Flexiforming technology is a chemical process that could convert many sustainable materials, such as ethanol, methanol, renewable naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and others, into high-quality sustainable fuels or chemicals, including SAF. Flexiforming enables an ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) pathway at approximately half the cost of current ETJ processes. And Flexiforming is also complementary to the most common SAF production processes by upgrading low-value byproducts, which can create better monetization opportunities for producers and maximize the use of limited raw material resources.
For example, SAF is made through HEFA (hydrotreated esters and fatty acids) technology from cooking oil or animal fat, which produces up to 20% byproduct of naphtha and LPG. And these byproducts have considerably lower market value than SAF, restricting monetization opportunities for SAF producers. Flexiforming cost-effectively upgrades the low-value renewable naphtha and LPG into high-value SAF, increasing the return a producer can expect and putting more SAF on the market.
One of the biggest benefits of Flexiforming is that it creates the aromatic molecules needed for jet engines and other aircraft equipment to run smoothly. Modern airplanes are designed to work with traditional jet fuels that contain a specific ratio of these molecules, so adding them is essential for creating drop-in-ready SAF. And while other production methods like HEFA and Fischer-Tropsch make basic fuel components, the addition of Flexiforming’s aromatic SAF allows for a fully synthetic jet fuel that airlines would be able to use without blending with conventional jet fuel once 100% SAF is approved by ASTM International (formerly the American Society of Testing and Materials).
Unifuel’s team achieved over a decade of research and extensive testing on its Flexiforming technology. With the close of its seed round, the company is preparing to enter the ASTM clearinghouse for SAF certification and will have the capacity to build on its current customer base using the new lab to further demonstrate the technology.
KEY QUOTES:
“Today’s SAF production is challenged by feedstock limitations and expense, which are problems Unifuel’s Flexiforming solves. Unifuel has engineered a more efficient SAF production method that dramatically cuts costs while getting the most out of limited resources. The feedstock flexibility of Unifuel’s technology gives the company the ability to work in multiple SAF pathways, partnering with the best players of whatever pathway makes the most sense in a given geography. This ingenuity exemplifies the type of high-impact, scalable solution we believe is essential for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, making them a strategic addition to TO VC’s portfolio of companies driving the transition to sustainable energy systems.”
-Joshua Phitoussi, managing partner at TO VC
“Sustainable aviation depends upon developing SAF that is not only cost-effective but able to work within the aviation industry as it stands today. With Flexiforming, we can give SAF producers the ability to make affordable, high-quality SAF that has the characteristics needed for aircraft performance and the flexibility to scale at their own rate. We are pleased to have the support of investors who understand the market gap we can fill and will support us as we work to make low-cost drop-in-ready SAF a reality.”
-Alexei Beltyukov, CEO of Universal Fuel Technologies
