£1.8m grant aims to de‑risk non‑CO2 impacts of OXCCU's synthetic jet fuel
This article covers OXCCU, a Kidlington-based cleantech startup, which has secured a £1.8m grant to study the warming effects of its synthetic jet fuel beyond carbon dioxide. The project aims to investigate non-CO2 impacts such as soot formation and cloud effects to support scaling of the OXFUEL product and to provide evidence for regulators, airlines and policymakers in the aviation sector.
An Oxfordshire cleantech startup that turns carbon dioxide and hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel has secured a £1.8m grant to study the warming effects of its synthetic jet fuel beyond carbon dioxide. Kidlington‑based OXCCU will use the funding to investigate non‑CO2 impacts of its OXFUEL product, a step the company says is intended to support a move from demonstration projects to full‑scale operations.
Why it matters
The aviation sector is under growing pressure to cut carbon and non‑CO2 warming effects as governments push greener flying. The UK has set a policy target for 10 per cent of jet fuel to be sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, and scientific attention is increasingly focusing on sooty particles and cloud formation at altitude, which can influence warming independently of CO2.
Understanding how alternative fuels affect soot and cloud processes is important for regulators and airlines that must assess the true climate benefit of switching to SAF. Grants that target these uncertainties can help bridge the gap between lab demonstrations and industry adoption.
Inside the product
OXCCU produces a synthetic aviation fuel it calls OXFUEL by converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen using an iron‑based Fischer‑Tropsch catalyst. The new project has a total budget of £3m, of which the company has been awarded a £1.8m grant, and will run until June 2027.
The research will examine how the catalyst‑derived fuel performs in terms of soot formation and other non‑CO2 effects when burned in jet turbines. Soot particles can seed cloud formation at cruising altitudes and therefore influence radiative forcing, but their net warming effect depends on atmospheric conditions and remains an active area of study.
Founder perspective
In the announcement, Andrew Symes, chief executive of OXCCU, said:
This ATI funding not only enables us to advance our technology but also supports our ambition to lead the industry in producing cleaner aviation fuels with a reduced contribution to global warming. Non-CO2 effects are an area of emerging science that could have substantial implications for climate strategy in aviation. This funding will provide critical insights as we work to validate and scale our OXFUEL product.
Public backing and ecosystem ties
The award comes via the ATI Non‑CO2 Programme, delivered by the Aerospace Technology Institute in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation. The ATI programme builds on the wider Aviation Non‑CO2 Programme, managed by the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Transport and the Natural Environment Research Council.
The grant covers £1.8m of the project’s £3m budget and is intended to accelerate industrial research into technologies that reduce non‑CO2 emissions across the aerospace sector. No investor commentary beyond the company announcement was provided.
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The bigger picture
The OXCCU award illustrates how public funding is being used in the UK to de‑risk complex, hard‑to‑abate innovations in aviation. Startups attempting to scale SAF technologies often require grant support to cover applied research and testing that private capital is reluctant to fund on its own.
As the UK and Europe refine SAF mandates and emissions accounting, projects that quantify non‑CO2 impacts will shape which fuels and production routes gain regulatory and commercial traction. For OXCCU, the next 18 months of research will feed into validation work needed for commercial roll‑out and for buyers and policymakers to assess the true climate performance of synthetic SAF.
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