According to EU-Startups, Oxford-based carbon conversion company OXCCU just secured €2 million through the ATI Non-CO₂ Programme, making it the first sustainable aviation fuel company to receive this specific grant. The funding will be used to investigate the non-CO₂ effects of its synthetic crude product called OXFUEL, with the total project cost reaching €3.4 million through co-investment between industry and government. CEO Andrew Symes stated this supports their ambition to produce cleaner aviation fuels with reduced global warming impact. The project runs from July 2025 to June 2027 and aligns with broader 2025 investment trends across Europe’s SAF ecosystem. This comes after OXCCU raised €23.7 million in September 2025 and €20.6 million back in June 2023, showing consistent funding momentum for the University of Oxford spin-out founded in 2021.
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<h2 id="the-non-co2-problem“>The invisible climate threat
Here’s the thing everyone misses about aviation emissions: CO2 gets all the attention, but non-CO2 effects might be just as important. We’re talking about soot particles, cloud formation at altitude, and other warming impacts that happen when you burn fuel way up in the atmosphere. The science here is still emerging, which makes OXCCU’s focus pretty smart timing. But here’s the catch – we don’t actually know how much warming these particles cause, and the effect depends heavily on atmospheric conditions. So while €2 million sounds like serious money for research, it might just scratch the surface of a massively complex atmospheric science problem.
Europe’s SAF gold rush
Look at what’s happening across Europe right now – this isn’t just about OXCCU. Germany’s Spark e-Fuels raised €2.3 million, Spain’s Catalyxx secured €3 million, and Netherlands’ Brineworks got €6.8 million. There’s clearly a continent-wide push to scale sustainable aviation fuels, and investors are throwing serious cash at the problem. But I’ve got to wonder: are we seeing another clean tech bubble forming? Remember all those biofuel companies that promised the world a decade ago and then quietly disappeared? The difference this time might be government backing – the UK wants 10% SAF in jet fuel by 2030, so there’s real policy pressure driving this.
OXCCU’s technical edge
What makes OXCCU interesting is their single-step process using a novel iron-based Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that works directly with CO2. Basically, they’re cutting out multiple conversion steps that make other SAF production methods expensive and energy-intensive. Fewer steps means lower capital costs and less hydrogen input per gallon of fuel – and hydrogen production is one of the biggest energy hogs in clean fuel manufacturing. They’ve already validated this at their OX1 demonstration plant at Oxford Airport, which puts them ahead of many competitors still stuck in lab phase. But scaling from demonstration to commercial production? That’s where countless climate tech startups have stumbled before.
The real challenge ahead
So OXCCU has the funding, the technology looks promising, and they’re tackling an important part of the aviation emissions puzzle. But let’s be real – the sustainable aviation fuel industry faces some brutal economics. Can they actually produce fuel at a price airlines will pay without massive government subsidies? And even if they solve the non-CO2 effects, will it matter if they can’t scale production to meaningful volumes? The UK’s 10% SAF target by 2030 sounds great until you realize how much fuel that actually represents. Still, with consistent funding rounds and government backing, OXCCU seems better positioned than most to actually make it to commercial scale. The next two years of this research project will tell us whether they’re building the future of aviation fuel or just another promising academic spin-out that couldn’t escape the valley of death.
