A look back at 2011

As we look back on tremendous progress in 2011 and forward to an exciting year for AFS in 2012, the commissioning of the AFS demonstrator unit is going well.  Our safety-first ethos, determination to fully capture all the process detail, and the anticipated effect of the Christmas holidays mean that our schedule has slipped slightly, but we are currently running only a couple of weeks behind for the first fuel production from the demonstrator. We look forward to inviting seriously interested friends and potential partners to visit the facility in February and March.

Shell: biofuels are the best alternative to oil-based transport fuels for the next 20 years

"Shell re-affirmed its belief that biofuels are the best alternative to oil-based transport fuels for the next 20 years at F.O. Licht's World Ethanol & Biofuels in Barcelona on 8 November.

In a keynote interview to open the conference, Arthur Reijnhart, General Manager, Alternative Energies and Fuel Development Strategy for Shell, painted a picture of an increasingly diverse energy supply landscape against a backdrop of soaring demand between now and 2050, driven by population growth, increasing incomes and increasing urbanisation of the world's population."

Read more: Shell: biofuels are the best alternative to oil-based transport fuels for the next 20 years

Air Fuel Synthesis - An alternative to Fossil Fuels

A real alternative to fossil fuels

Air Fuel Synthesis is pioneering a revolutionary concept to provide a secure,stable , and sustainable alternative to the world's constant uncertainty about the future of oil-based products.

Air Fuel Synthesis uses renewable energy to do what nature does with photosynthesis and time, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into oil Put simply, Air Fuel Synthesis converts air and water into synthetic hydrocarbon liquids from which fuels or other oil based products can be made.

AFS fuels offer a complete solution for sustainable transport fuels of all types. AFS is uniquely able to include aviation fuel in its potential product range a fuel which has proven to be difficult to obtain from other non fossil sources.

Concept Overview

Oil is basically made from carbon and hydrogen. Carbon is in the air in the form of carbon dioxide and hydrogen can be found in water.

Air Fuel Synthesis (AFS) is the process of turning carbon in air and hydrogen in water into fuel.

AFS is integrating a range of technologies that will allow this carbon neutral fuel to enter the transport fuel market thus creating the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.

Air Fuel Synthesis has identified suitable technologies and is now in a pilot stage and intends to develop this process to a commercial scale.

Our Mission

The team at Air Fuel Synthesis believes there is a strong case, based on energy security and ambitious carbon reduction targets, to develop a drop in, near carbon neutral, aviation fuel using low carbon electricity, hydrogen, and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

A broad and global implementation of "Fuel From Air", using renewables, would significantly assist mankind to continue to develop after oil has become uneconomic. It might be the only system available to generate oil substitute products.

The AFS mission is to create a renewable fuel cycle for transport that will be carbon-neutral, produced using renewable energy in order to safeguard the planet when fossil fuels are no longer viable.

Air Fuel Synthesis is working towards presenting to a global market, as we develop a working demonstration model to prove the viability of this technology.

Air Fuel Synthesis is looking to develop relations with technology partners to help establish large scale supply capabilities to support commercial uptake of the AFS approach.

Our assumptions are:

1) Conventional oil supplies are depleting rapidly with global 'Peak Oil' occurring before 2015.

2) Unconventional oil from shale, tar sands, gas-to-liquids, coal-to-liquids and biomass-to-liquids will not be sufficient to meet the shortfall in transport fuels. Peak coal and peak gas are not far behind Peak Oil

3) Biofuels will not be available in sufficient quantities to meet the shortfall in transport fuels. The UK in particular cannot grow enough biofuels for its need.

4) Electric and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles will have a role in the low-carbon future but the range of these vehicles will be too short for aviation, long-distance road freight and international shipping.

5) The shift to electric and hydrogen technologies will take a long time, requiring major changes to energy supply infrastructures and will be very expensive. The batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) in particular will be prohibitively expensive except for short-range operation.

6) The release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is causing dangerous climate change. The release of carbon dioxide must therefore be drastically reduced. The conversion of coal to liquid fuels is particularly disadvantageous because of conversion inefficiencies and the high carbon content of coal. Approximately 3 molecules of carbon dioxide are produced for every atom of carbon contained in the fuel produced.

7) Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is too expensive and energy intensive; the risk of carbon dioxide release from CCS is too great; and the locations for permanent storage of carbon dioxide would quickly become too full to use.

8) There are many remote locations in the world with large-scale, affordable renewable energy resources but where the connection of renewable energy generation to the electricity grid is uneconomic. These locations would be suitable for AFS plant manufacturing liquid fuels. In the UK, the wind power resource will be particularly suitable for AFS.