SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Opus 12 is building electrochemical devices that transform carbon dioxide (CO2) into petrochemical building blocks. This technology can produce syngas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas), which can be used to produce jet fuel. The USAF has already certified an alternative jet fuel called Fischer Tropsch-Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK) to produce jet fuel from syngas through the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process. The typical feedstocks for this fuel are coal and biomass, which are gasified to produce syngas, releasing CO2 in the process. This CO2 can be transformed into more syngas to produce fuel, thereby increasing the yield of that plant. Fuel can also be produced from CO2 captured directly from the air with a direct air capture (DAC) system. An Opus 12 F-T integrated system can be containerized and deployed on-base for in-situ remote fuel production from CO2 and water. This technology can help USAF increase energy reliability and resilience to improve combat capability and readiness. In this pilot, Opus 12 will demonstrate an integrated CO2-to-jet fuel system and produce FT-SPK fuel from CO2. Opus 12's commercialization timeline is in line with a full-scale pilot and industrial production of alternative jet fuel production for the USAF within 5 years.
