Twelve breaks ground on commercial-scale plant for sustainable aviation fuel made from CO2

By Zachary Bogue

11 Jul 2023

Climate

Washington State doubles down on its storied history in aviation. Governor Jay Inslee (far left), Zack (middle), and the Twelve team convened an outstanding groundbreaking for Twelve’s new sustainable aviation fuel plant.

Your correspondent was extremely proud to attend today’s groundbreaking in Moses Lake, Washington, for Twelve’s commercial scale plant to produce its E‑Jet® sustainable aviation fuel, which is made from CO₂. Since leading the company’s Seed round in 2018, as well as its recent $130 million Series B, DCVC has been committed to Twelve’s development — and to arriving at a day like this.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee was joined in the ceremony by Washington State Senator Julie Warnick, and Twelve’s cofounders CEO Nicholas Flanders, Chief Scientific Officer Etosha Cave, Chief Technology Officer Kendra Kuhl, and others from the company were on hand along with leadership from Alaska Airlines and Microsoft, which will be among the first customers to use fuel produced at the new plant.

The future’s so bright, (Governor Inslee and) I gotta wear shades. These lenses are made by Twelve out of CO2 that otherwise would have been emitted to the atmosphere.

The mood here was euphoric, and with good reason. Twelve’s E‑Jet fuel is made with the company’s novel carbon transformation technology, which uses only renewable energy and water to turn CO₂ into critical chemicals, materials, and fuels conventionally made from fossil fuels. E‑Jet fuel’s lifecycle GHG emissions are 90% lower than those for petroleum jet fuel. The fuel itself is drop-in-ready for existing aircraft and enjoys plentiful feedstock.

Twelve expects fuel production to start in 2024. It will begin by producing at a pace of 40,000 gallons per year but aims to increase that to 1 million gallons per year soon after that.

As Ann Ardizzone, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain, made clear in her excellent remarks here today, the aviation industry is serious about getting to net-zero carbon emissions. Twelve offers a way to get there with a product that, when produced at scale, can fundamentally change aviation’s carbon footprint without requiring changes to its infrastructure. The company exemplifies the deep tech teams DCVC loves to back: entrepreneurs solving trillion-dollar real-world problems.

To Nicholas, Etosha, Kendra, and the whole Twelve team, a hearty congratulations from DCVC! Today’s groundbreaking marks an unmistakable beginning for brighter days ahead.

Zachary Bogue is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of DCVC.