Zero Petroleum

Zero Petroleum is a British technology company founded in 2020 by former Formula 1 engineer Paddy Lowe and Professor Nilay Shah OBE, the Head of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. Lowe, with a distinguished 32-year career in F1, held senior technical roles at Williams, McLaren, and Mercedes, contributing to 12 World Championships. His expertise in high-performance engineering, combined with Shah's leading authority in chemical engineering and decarbonization, forms the foundation of the company.

The company manufactures 100% fossil-free, carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, a process it terms "Petrosynthesis". This technology uses renewable energy to power the extraction of hydrogen from water via electrolysis and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through direct air capture. These components are then converted into hydrocarbons like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel using a proprietary version of the Fischer-Tropsch process. The resulting products are chemically identical to their fossil-based counterparts and can be used as a "drop-in" replacement in existing engines without any modifications.

A significant milestone was achieved in November 2021, when Zero Petroleum, in partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF), conducted the world's first flight powered entirely by synthetic fuel. The flight, using an Ikarus C42 microlight aircraft, earned a Guinness World Record and demonstrated the fuel's viability, showing no performance difference compared to standard fuel. This success has led to an ongoing partnership with the RAF to scale up production and support the military's goal of becoming net-zero by 2040. The company has also entered into agreements with Rolls-Royce to test its synthetic fuels in aviation, marine, and defense engines, and has a sponsorship deal with the Sauber Motorsport F1 team.

Zero Petroleum operates its first continuous production facility, Plant Zero.1, in Bicester, UK, and has a US headquarters in Santa Monica, California. The company has secured funding through various rounds, including a seed round with investors like F1 champion Damon Hill OBE and grants from Innovate UK.

Keywords: synthetic fuels, e-fuels, petrosynthesis, carbon neutral, direct air capture, Fischer-Tropsch process, sustainable aviation fuel, SAF, fossil-free, hydrogen, CO2 recycling, renewable energy, drop-in fuel, aviation fuel, decarbonization, climate technology, circular economy, Paddy Lowe, energy transition, advanced fuels, green technology