Zero has entered into a significant agreement with global engineering giant Rolls-Royce to advance the development of the company’s fossil-free synthetic fuels, signaling the increasing momentum behind synthetic fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels.
Under this new agreement, both companies will collaborate to demonstrate Zero® synthetic fuels on various Rolls-Royce engines designed for aviation, marine, and defense applications. This may encompass Zero’s complete range of synthetic fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Data collected from engine testing will be used to validate the necessary credentials for international fuel certification standards. The deployment of synthetic fuels by Rolls-Royce in engine tests will directly reduce associated carbon emissions.
Zero, founded by Formula One technical legend Paddy Lowe just over three years ago, achieved the Guinness World Records® title of “first aircraft powered by synthetic fuel” in 2021 and recently opened the world’s first fully-featured synthetic fuel facility, Plant Zero.1.
Paddy Lowe, CEO of Zero, commented, “We are thrilled to be working with one of the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking engineering companies in a combined quest to accelerate the Energy Transition. The world is facing increasingly urgent demands for fossil fuel alternatives and it is vital for all companies to develop the solutions to achieve this. We could not consider a better engine partner than Rolls-Royce with whom to meet this challenge head-on. We have proven the genuine capabilities of our fuels in a wide variety of vehicles – including a light aircraft, a supercar and a chainsaw. As we move towards full certification of our fuels, we are starting to put in place the commercial realisation of these demonstrations and aim to be running our first large-scale production plant two years from now.”
Dave Gordon, Senior Vice President – UK Defence at Rolls-Royce, said, “Rolls-Royce’s Gas Turbine technology is a critical strategic national capability and guilt-free synthetic fuel is at the heart of how we can continue to support the warfighter in delivering military advantage. Zero is at the cutting-edge of the synthetic fuel industry and we have been extremely impressed by their rapid progress in the short time they have been in existence; we are confident their team can continue that impressive trajectory. We look forward to a long partnership between Rolls-Royce and Zero to develop and demonstrate the future of sustainable energy across our wide range of complex power & propulsion solutions as we leave the fossil fuel era behind us.”
Zero® fuels, produced from air and water using Zero’s proprietary Direct FT® process, can be used directly in existing engines and can be manufactured at an unlimited scale, unlike existing bio- and waste-based Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). Synthetic fuels have the potential to decarbonize numerous critical sectors and industries, with Zero predicting cost parity with fossil fuels within a decade.
