Playing it Fast and Palouse

Formerly Opus 12, the company known today as simply Twelve was born of breakthrough discoveries made at Stanford University by Doctors Etosha Cave and Kendra Kuhl. The company is among the preeminent concerns in the field of CO2 electrocatalysis and electrochemical reactor design.

By virtue of a proprietary technology and an electrochemical reactor dubbed O12, Twelve transforms CO2 emissions into petrochemical analogues.

On 11 July 2023, Twelve commenced construction of a commercial-scale E-Jet fuel production facility in the central Washington city of Moses Lake. The plant’s ground-breaking ceremony was attended by controversial Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Washington state Senator Julie Warnick, and featured a panel discussion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) partaken in by Twelve co-founder and chief science officer Dr. Etosha Cave, Alaska Airlines vice-president of strategic sourcing & supply chain Ann Ardizzone, and senior director of Microsoft’s climate innovation fund Brandon Middaugh.

E-Jet fuel is an ASTM-compliant SAF produced by dint of Twelve’s carbon transformation technology and in partnership with Emerging Fuels Technology. The product is a drop-in synthetic fuel compatible with extant aircraft powerplants and airport fueling infrastructure. Unlike conventional biofuels, E-Jet’s production is predicated neither on feedstocks, used cooking oils, animal fats, nor municipal waste. Ergo, the fuel offers the best-to-date long-term solution for the diminishment of atmospheric GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions deriving of the aviation sector.

Fuel production at Twelve’s new Moses Lake facility is expected to get underway in mid-2024 at an approximate capacity of five barrels per-day (40,000 gallons per-year). The company hopes to ramp up production in short order.

The plant’s construction will create some two-hundred local jobs. Once operational, the facility will provide additional clean-energy jobs across Moses Lake and the surrounding areas.

Twelve co-founder and CEO Nicholas Flanders stated: “Twelve uses carbon transformation to address hard-to-abate emissions across a variety of industries and to enable a world made from air, not oil. Our commercial-scale production of E-Jet fuel will allow the aviation sector to achieve fossil-free flights for the long-haul.”

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee declared: “We’re proud to welcome Twelve to Washington state. By producing E-Jet fuel at scale, Twelve will boost our soaring aviation industry and our thriving clean energy economy.”

Alaska Airlines, Microsoft, and Shopify will be the first customers to receive products from the new E-Jet fuel plant. As part of each company’s commitment to decarbonization—and in keeping with a three-party agreement between Alaska, Microsoft, and Twelve—fuel produced at the latter’s Moses Lake facility will be used in regular airline operations.

Alaska Airlines vice-president of strategic sourcing & supply chain Ann Ardizzone set forth: “At Alaska Airlines, we’re working hard across our operations to be the most fuel-efficient U.S. airline. We know that maturing the SAF market is a critical part of reaching our own and our industry’s long-term goal of net zero carbon emissions.”

Ms. Ardizzone concluded: “Our partnership with Twelve and Microsoft to bring E-Jet into use on commercial flights in the year ahead is an important part of this journey. We are proud to support the development and production of SAF in Washington state, supporting our innovation economy and local jobs. Congratulations to Twelve and the Moses Lake community on this groundbreaking milestone.”

FMI: www.twelve.co