LONDON, UK, 9th May 2023 – Zero announced it is opening its first synthetic fuel facility (“Plant Zero.1”) on 14th June 2023. The facility will include the world’s first fully-featured synthetic fuel plant, leading the way to providing the technical and commercial blueprint for global deployment of synthetic fuels at scale. Plant Zero.1 will manufacture engineering-grade fuels from Q3 2023 to be used for market evaluations and approvals including ASTM certifications for flight and other applications, to be achieved in early 2024.

On Tuesday 25th April the EU agreed to take forward the ReFuelEU mandate for synthetic fuels in aviation starting at 1.2% in 2030 and increasing to 35% by 2050. This is a landmark endorsement of Zero’s products and technologies. The scale of the mandate is truly significant and comes on the back of the recent concession to continuing manufacture of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles after 2035 provided they are also powered by synthetic fuels (e-fuels).

As a result, Zero has now committed to accelerate its growth to mass production with plans for the company’s first international production plant (“Plant Zero.2”) that will manufacture 100% drop-in grade synthetic fuels at a commercial scale as soon as 2025. This will be a fundamental component of the Energy Transition to meet global commitments to eliminate fossil-carbon emissions. 

Zero Co-Founder and CEO, Paddy Lowe said: “We are very excited about the upcoming opening of our engineering-scale Plant Zero.1 in just a few weeks, which will be the first fully-featured synthetic fuel plant in the world (air, water and renewable electricity to 100% drop-in grade fuel, all in one building). This has been made possible by fantastic support from a range of investors and partners, most particularly the UK’s Royal Air Force”.

Zero Co-Founder and CScO, Nilay Shah said: “There is an urgent need to develop and deliver synthetic fuels to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels in the very wide range of transport applications which cannot directly use renewable electricity. We are setting ourselves the target of multi-market commercial-scale fuel production as soon as 2025 and expecting to achieve cost parity with current fossil-fuel pricing within a decade.”

Zero is one of the few companies globally to successfully create all three types of carbon-neutral fuel (gasoline, diesel and jet fuel) and holds the Guinness World Records® title for the first aircraft powered by synthetic fuel. The technical and operational development coming from Plant Zero.1 has given Zero the confidence to already commit to the next phase of production scale-up – the commercial-scale Plant Zero.2. The construction and deployment of Plant Zero.2, as early as 2025, will accelerate the deployment of synthetic fuels to both commercial and consumer markets across a wide range of transport applications making the elimination of fossil-fuels a realistic option.

London, UK. 18th September 2023 – Zero has entered a landmark agreement with global engineering giant Rolls-Royce to promote further development of the company’s fossil-free synthetic fuels. The commitment demonstrates the growing momentum behind the development of synthetic fuels as a replacement for fossil fuels.

The new agreement will see the two parties collaborate to demonstrate Zero® synthetic fuels on a variety of different Rolls-Royce engines for aviation, marine and defence use. This has the potential to include Zero’s entire range of synthetic fuels – gasoline, diesel and jet fuel – with data gathered from engine testing used to prove the credentials required to achieve international fuel certification standards. Synthetic fuels deployed by Rolls-Royce in engine tests will directly reduce associated carbon emissions.

Zero, which was founded by Formula One technical legend Paddy Lowe little more than three years ago, secured the Guinness World Records® title of “first aircraft powered by synthetic fuel” in 2021 and opened the world’s first fully-featured synthetic fuel facility Plant Zero.1 earlier this year.

Zero CEO Paddy Lowe said: “We are thrilled to be working with one of the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking engineering companies in a combined quest to accelerate the Energy Transition. The world is facing increasingly urgent demands for fossil fuel alternatives and it is vital for all companies to develop the solutions to achieve this. We could not consider a better engine partner than Rolls-Royce with whom to meet this challenge head-on.

Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President – UK Defence, Dave Gordon, said: “Rolls-Royce’s Gas Turbine technology is a critical strategic national capability and guilt-free synthetic fuel is at the heart of how we can continue to support the warfighter in delivering military advantage. Zero is at the cutting-edge of the synthetic fuel industry and we have been extremely impressed by their rapid progress in the short time they have been in existence; we are confident their team can continue that impressive trajectory. We look forward to a long partnership between Rolls-Royce and Zero to develop and demonstrate the future of sustainable energy across our wide range of complex power & propulsion solutions as we leave the fossil fuel era behind us.”

Zero® fuels, which are made from just air and water using Zero’s proprietary Direct FT® process, can be used directly in existing engines and can be made at unlimited scale, unlike existing bio- and waste-based Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). Synthetic fuels have the potential to de-fossilise numerous critical sectors and industries with Zero predicting cost parity with fossil fuels within a decade.

ENDS