Over 17 years have gone by since the first commercial flight took off with biofuels, yet SAFs still account for less than 2% of total airline usage. Safe to say, the sector has been off to a slow start.
Many attempts have been made to drive progress but with limited results. HEFAs rely on finite waste oils, competing with food production. Biomass-to-liquids (BTL) require large amounts of land, impacting agriculture. Lignin-Based Jet Fuels? Too complex to scale efficiently. The list goes on, and time is running out – aviation emissions could triple by 2050 as travel dials up. The scale of the problem is exactly what has set OXCCU's co-founder, Andrew Symes, out to solve it.
A chemical breakthrough
Andrew’s path to launching a SAF startup wasn’t a coincidence. A chemistry graduate from Oxford University, he has spent years paving the way for sustainable energy.
"I’ve always been fascinated with what fuels the wheels of modern society, which is essentially oil, gas, and energy, "Andrew says. "As a student, I became aware of the accelerating challenge of climate change. I wanted to see if technology could help get us off fossil fuels while sustaining the same standard of living."
After six years at BP and four years in VC, an unexpected breakthrough in 2020 set things in motion. A team of researchers at the University of Oxford cracked a single-step process that could convert CO₂ and green hydrogen directly into e-fuels. When powered by renewable energy and coupled with biogenic or direct air capture CO₂, it could slash lifecycle emissions by up to 90%. Even better, it would create a closed loop system, in essence, converting emissions into fuel.
“It was a real chemical breakthrough—one that could make a tangible difference," Andrew says. “By simplifying the process of creating e-fuel, it could massively reduce emissions.” The discovery would be the start of OXCCU.
The real cost of fossil fuels
While OXCCU has the potential to move the needle on SAFs, the technology is just one piece of the puzzle. To get airlines onboard, the price must come down. SAFs today cost three to five times more than traditional jet fuel – a tough sell for airlines. While the team is working hard to cut costs, Andrew doesn't believe that matching the price of fossil fuels is realistic. "Getting down to oil prices is extraordinarily difficult because we have to produce the fuel in real-time," Andrew explains. "We don’t have the luxury of millions of years of photosynthesis." Rather, he poses a different question: "What should the price of fossil fuels be, factoring in the environmental cost?”
Regulation may be the key to shifting the economics. Policies like Europe’s ReFuelEU mandate, requiring a 70% SAF blend by 2050, could push airlines to adopt alternatives—but it could also mean passengers paying the price. "We want to enable people to fly sustainably without a huge impact on ticket prices,"Andrew says."but we can't promise to be materially cheaper than jet fuel today."He believes regulation can kick-start adoption, and technological advancements drive down costs over time.
A $25B funding gap
Innovation isn’t cheap – especially when building real-world solutions. Unlike software startups that can scale with a laptop and an idea, SAF startups need capital-intensive infrastructure, materials, and production plants.
Project SkyPower, a coalition of 50+ companies including Air France-KLM and Copenhagen Airports, advocates for €15–25B in e-SAF investments by 2030 to meet EU climate targets. But where that money will come from remains unclear. With Climate Tech equity funding decreasing and Trump in administration, there is a clear gap between ambition and reality. "Getting first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects off the ground is a real challenge,"Andrew admits."Existing industry players will play a key role in financing that gap."
For now, OXCCU isn’t feeling the pinch. The Oxford spin-out has raised £20M to date, including a mix of equity and grants, and plans to secure project financing as they scale.
Finding a middle ground
Despite the challenges, Andrew remains cautiously optimistic. He thinks that progress will start slow, but accelerate over time.
The best path to Net Zero? To find a middle ground. "Saying that climate change isn’t happening is ridiculous. But we can’t just shut down the economy or ask people never to fly again. Traveling is innately human."
The way forward, he believes, is striking the right balance. "We need to demonstrate what is possible and leave the next generation with the tools they need to allow them to have the same quality of life but with lower emissions." he concludes. "We might not be able to fly entirely sustainable in our lifetime, but we have to give it our best shot."
Karin Killander covers the intersection between technology and climate change. She's a brand-builder who's s worked in tech for over a decade, both in VC and for venture-backed startups. She currently works for Net Zero Insights and runs B2B content studio Momentum.
