Climate Solutions News speaks to CEO Andrew Symes, who says the investment will fund a new demonstration plant, with the aim of commercial-scale production by the end of the decade.
OXCCU has secured $28 million in Series B funding to accelerate development of its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology, which converts waste carbon and green hydrogen into jet fuel. The round was led by Orlen, Safran, and International Airlines Group (IAG), alongside Host Plus, Taiwan Cooperative Bank’s venture arm, Clean Energy Ventures, Braavos Capital, ENI, and Oxford University.
“We’ve raised £20.75 million, roughly US$28 million. It was led by Orlen, who are the largest refiner in Central Europe, and Safran, who is one of, if not the largest, French defence aerospace company. And alongside IAG, who’s one of largest airlines in the world, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia,” said Andrew Symes, co-founder and CEO of OXCCU.
According to Symes, the investment “funds our next demonstration plant, which will prove our technology at a much larger scale with better yields and ultimately get us one step further to our overall mission, which is to have a commercial plant using our technology for the end of this decade.”
Rising airline emissions
Aviation currently contributes around 2–3% of global CO₂ emissions, but the impact is rising fast. “The overall emissions from flying are growing very rapidly,” said Symes in the interview. Despite efficiency improvements, increasing passenger demand is pushing emissions upward, underscoring the urgency of scaling SAF production.
Andrew Symes, Co-founder and CEO of OXCCU at the company’s base in Oxford Airport.
From Pilot to Demonstration Scale
OXCCU’s first pilot, OX1, began operating in 2024 at Oxford Airport, producing around one litre of fuel per day. The new facility, OX2, will scale that to about 30 litres per day. “It’s got better yields. So it’s ultimately much closer to the commercial plant, but ultimately a demonstration plant,” said Symes.
Commercial facilities could eventually produce “10 tonnes a day, maybe up to 50 tonnes a day. So multiple thousand tonnes a year, maybe up to 10,000 tonnes a year, that kind of a scale,” he asserts.
How the Technology Works
Symes explains OXCCU’s process in simple terms: “Our process enables conversions with less steps and with higher selectivities. Less steps means less capex, so less cost upfront. And higher selectivity towards jet fuel means that you’ve got less byproducts and that means lower operating costs. So those two essentially enable us to get lower cost SAF.”
The platform uses three main feedstocks: biogas from farm and food waste, gasified solid carbon waste such as waste wood or straw, and pure CO₂ combined with green hydrogen. “Our catalyst can directly convert all of that into fuel… so it’s a platform technology that enables the direct conversion of both carbon dioxide, CO₂ and carbon monoxide, CO, into specifically the jet fuel range,” Symes said.
The Challenge of Feedstocks
As Symes noted, “the problem with biofuels is always the feedstocks. The aggregation of the feedstocks, the quality of the feedstocks, and whether or not the feedstocks are generally sustainable.” OXCCU sources include biogas, waste wood, agricultural residues, and high-purity CO₂ streams.
Genuine waste carbon feedstocks are those that do not deplete nature and soils, displace food, or cause deforestation. That does create some constraint on availability.
The OXCCU team.
Closing the Cost Gap
One of the biggest hurdles for SAF is cost. Symes acknowledged: “It is difficult to get down to parity with fossil fuels and that’s in large part because when you think about some sources of oil, it is obviously incredibly cheap to extract that.”
OXCCU’s goal is to drive down costs through efficiency. “Maybe HEFA, vegetable based SAF, trades around two times the fossil fuel price and it’s readily bought today. And the key thing for us is that we want to get the cost of the advanced SAF down to that same level and that does require technical innovation,” he said.
“If you are roughly two times the fossil, then the fossil could easily be put up to around that level and globally and be a mass market product. And that won’t have a significant effect on ticket prices,” said Symes, noting that SAF’s impact on fares would be modest: “Roughly, it’s about £1.50 for every £100 you spend if it’s only two times the price at 5%.”
He also believes that mandates and carbon pricing will also play a role.
A summary of OXCCU’s SAF production process.
Market Momentum
Airlines are beginning to act. IAG, one of OXCCU’s new investors, reported that in 2024 “1.9% of IAG’s total fuel used was SAF, saving 469,000 tonnes of CO₂, up almost 200% versus 2023.” Symes argued that while volumes are still low, “IAG are very serious, IAG are leading the way and they’re the most active airline in SAF… It’s going to be slow to start, but then accelerate as time goes on.”
As for alternative decarbonisation pathways, Symes was clear: “I think electric might be for helicopter replacement but you won’t get over the Atlantic any time soon with a battery… and hydrogen even less so. I don’t think there’s anyone seriously pushing hydrogen aviation. Certainly not for long haul.”
What next?
With new capital in hand, OXCCU is focused on getting OX2 operational. “Everyone is very quickly just all focused on getting our next demonstration plant up and running. So we’re trying to get that up and running, operating, making fuel by the end of next year,” said Symes.
Looking ahead, he emphasised the importance of policy combined with innovation: “We can’t lose sight of technology. You’ve got to focus on the technologies that can get the prices down, and then it makes the government’s job easier.”
As with so many climate solutions, we are right at the beginning, but with continued investment and support, SAF could well take off soon.
