{"id":172993,"date":"2026-02-06T07:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=172993"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:59:11","slug":"prometheus-new-e-kerosene-tech-drives-saf-cost-below-2-50-per-gallon-makes-fischer-tropsch-obsolet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/prometheus-new-e-kerosene-tech-drives-saf-cost-below-2-50-per-gallon-makes-fischer-tropsch-obsolet\/","title":{"rendered":"Prometheus\u2019 New e-Kerosene Tech Drives SAF Cost Below $2.50-per-Gallon, Makes Fischer-Tropsch Obsolet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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SAF is too expensive. Most buyers\u00a0aren\u2019t willing to pay a green premium<\/a>\u00a0and until now there hasn\u2019t been a technology capable of making carbon neutral jet fuel at the right price. What is the right price for SAF (sustainable aviation fuel)? There\u2019s only one \u2013 it\u2019s the price that can compete with jet fuel made from oil. For the past 15 years, e-fuel producers have promised lower fuel prices but have failed to deliver. It\u2019s not the cost of electricity that\u2019s holding e-SAF back. Over the last decade, the cost of solar has dropped as low as\u00a0$0.01 per kWh<\/a>\u00a0on multiple utility-scale solar projects. The problem is the technology everyone has adopted to make e-fuel \u2013 Fischer-Tropsch. Fischer-Tropsch will always be\u00a0too expensive<\/a>\u00a0to make cost-competitive e-fuels no matter what the price of electricity is. The demand for SAF is there. The airlines want it. Their customers want it. What\u2019s been missing is a technology that can make carbon neutral jet fuel at a price that beats the price of fossil jet fuel.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Prometheus, we\u2019ve created this technology. Today, I\u2019m proud to announce our new e-kerosene pathway \u2013 the first technology since Fischer-Tropsch a century ago that can convert electricity and CO2<\/sub> into carbon neutral jet fuel in a single process. Most importantly, the SAF that our e-kerosene pathway produces can compete on price with jet fuel made from oil, making Fischer-Tropsch obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prometheus\u2019 e-kerosene pathway marks a revolutionary advance in e-fuel production. Our pathway is the first ever created to use integrated low-cost direct air capture (DAC) of atmospheric CO2<\/sub>. It\u2019s the first pathway that does not use hydrogen to make fuel \u2013 considered a \u201choly grail\u201d in the field of electrochemistry. And the entire system was designed to run without a connection to the grid, powered solely by remote intermittent renewable electricity \u2013 the cheapest electrons on Earth. The jet fuel it produces does not need refining and is 100% carbon neutral, making it a true SAF. Significantly, the cost to make our jet fuel is the same or less than the cost of fossil jet fuel at any scale of production, whether it\u2019s one gallon or one million gallons.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I realize these are extraordinary claims, and so today, I\u2019m also proud to share for the first time details about our technology that make this new kerosene pathway possible. At Prometheus, we\u2019ve spent the past six years building our IP moat across multiple patent families and can now reveal more information about the innovations we\u2019ve pioneered. Our e-kerosene pathway employs a new technology we call Electrochemical Oligomerization, introduced by and proprietary to Prometheus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrochemical Oligomerization <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This new technology gives us the ability to make large hydrocarbon molecules using a process that is 100% percent electrochemical. We call this ability carbon-carbon chain growth Electrochemical Oligomerization. Standard oligomerization<\/a> refers to the coupling of small molecular units into mid-size molecules by sequential addition. A similar carbon chain growth<\/a> mechanism occurs in Fischer-Tropsch as part of a thermochemical process in reactors with high pressures and temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our Hydrocarbon Electrolyzers, we achieve carbon-carbon chain growth oligomerization similar to that of Fischer-Tropsch, but using a 100% electrochemical process that occurs in water at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Where Fischer-Tropsch uses high temperatures and pressures to make long-chain hydrocarbons, we use electromagnetic fields and electric currents. Our method is much cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The kerosene rises to the surface of our electrolyte (salty water) as a layer above the water due to its lower density and hydrophobicity (i.e., \u201coil and water don\u2019t mix<\/a>\u201d). The separation occurs in a simple oil \/ water separator<\/a> in which the kerosene pours over a weir, while the electrolyte is returned to the stack for continued production of fuel. The final product is synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK), a clean fuel that doesn\u2019t have the harmful \u201caromatic\u201d chemicals that oil-based fuels<\/a> do.<\/p>\n\n\n

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An \u201coil\u201d slick of Prometheus synthetic paraffinic kerosene forms on the surface of our electrolyte, according to the age-old polarity principle \u201coil and water don\u2019t mix\u201d
\u00a9 Prometheus <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What Is It Exactly that Makes Prometheus\u2019 100% Electrochemical e-Kerosene Pathway Cheaper than Fischer-Tropsch?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process is expensive for several reasons:<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. FT operates at high temperatures and pressures, requiring expensive materials and components \u2013 high CAPEX (example: a single Inconel ball valve<\/a> can cost as much as $20,000)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The high temperatures and pressures and high CAPEX of FT require 24\/7 operation, which requires a grid connection<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. FT\u2019s CO2<\/sub> comes from point source smokestacks, which requires an industrial site. If conventional DAC is used this is even more expensive than point source<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The combination of needing grid electricity and an industrial site means that electricity for FT is expensive, and proving that its fuel is carbon neutral requires additional costs such as the purchase of certificates<\/a> or reducing the value of the fuel by increasing its carbon intensity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The product of the FT process is a mixture of gases, liquids, and waxes<\/a>, that need to be further refined and not all of which become the desired SAF product<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. The projects planned with FT are large scale requiring significant upfront capital for first of a kind (FOAK) projects putting\u00a0billions of dollars<\/a>\u00a0at risk. This is because of the significant exponential scaling factors of projects of this type<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Prometheus\u2019 electrochemical e-kerosene process is low-cost for several reasons:<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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    1. It operates at atmospheric pressure and low temperature, meaning its fuel-production system can be built using inexpensive plastic components \u2013 low CAPEX (example: a PVC ball valve<\/a> can cost less than $115)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. The low temperature, pressure, and CAPEX allow the process to run intermittently, making cheap, remote, off-grid solar its ideal power source<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Its CO2<\/sub> comes from DAC, allowing it to be sited in remote locations with low land costs and no need for grid connections<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. The combination of intermittent operation, low-cost Prometheus No-Desorb DAC<\/a>, and no grid, with the ability to site fuel production anywhere, means the electricity inputs for Prometheus\u2019 fuels can be the cheapest electrons in the world today \u2013 around 1 cent per kWh<\/a>. By using the lowest cost solar panels<\/a>, low-cost east-west ground mount racks<\/a>, low voltage DC, no or few batteries, and avoiding the costs related to grid connections, an electricity price of less than 1 cent per kWh is well within reach<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. The product of Prometheus\u2019 process is finished kerosene. All that\u2019s needed to turn this kerosene into SAF is a small amount of required additives<\/a> such as lubricants, anti-statics and the like commonly required to meet ASTM specs<\/a> for SAF<\/a> from SPK. Because the ASTM for SAF is pathway dependent, and our pathway is new, a new certification will be required<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Prometheus kerosene is low cost at any scale, from one gallon per day to millions, so a first of a kind (FOAK) project can be any size. Any size project is simply a multiple of the same stack, with the cost scaling linearly with production volumes <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      How We Get to $2.50 for a Gallon of Prometheus SAF <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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      When we say we can make SAF at the right price, we mean less than $2.50 per gallon, here\u2019s how that breaks down: <\/p>\n\n\n\n