Zero Petroleum and RAF set world record for first successful flight powered by synthetic fuel

It has been a proud week for us at Raising Partners, as our Raising Partners Angels portfolio company Zero Petroleum, in partnership with the Royal Air Force, secured a Guinness World Record for the first flight in the world to be powered entirely by synthetic aviation fuel.

Zero Petroleum, led by the pioneering Paddy Lowe and Nilay Shah, partnered with the RAF to tackle the prevalent issues caused by fossil fuels whilst also aiming to defossilise the entire fuel requirement of the RAF.

Sir Mike Wigston CBE ADC Chief of the Air Staff says: “Climate change is a transnational challenge which threatens global resilience and our shared security and prosperity. I am determined to tackle this head-on and have set the Royal Air Force the ambitious goal to be Net Zero by 2040.”

“The way we power our aircraft will be a big part of achieving that goal, and this exciting project to make aviation fuel from air and water shows how it might be done.”

The innovative success of Zero Petroleum has been made possible after completing an oversubscribed seed raise of £200,000 from Raising Partners Angels in September 2021 – Formula One World Champion and Sky broadcaster, Damon Hill OBE was also one of the investors participating via the syndicate.

The achievements of Zero Petroleum thus far are extremely impressive and their vision for the future is inspiring as they set out to become the world leader in synthetic fuels, technology, and production.

Zero Petroleum co-founder Paddy Lowe says: “This unique project with the Royal Air Force demonstrates the validity of our synthetic fuel and the potential it has to eliminate fossil CO2, emissions from a number of difficult but critical sectors, including transport which currently accounts for 23% of the global total.”

“Synthetic fuel allows the world to rethink its relationships with petroleum which can now be man-made in significant volumes within a carbon-neutral process. This revolution will power the Energy Transition by creating a fully-circular fuel supply at scale. This is the start of a new era of perpetual energy, fossil-free.”

As IC Chair of Raising Partners Angels, Helena Murphy commented: “This is a very proud moment for us all at Raising Partners Angels as we witness a momentous occasion for the team at Zero Petroleum. As our debut investment via the syndicate, we are delighted to support Paddy and Nilay as they are able to make actionable steps towards their aim of becoming the world leader in synthetic efuels technology and production. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Coverage

We are delighted to share some of the widespread coverage Zero Petroleum and the RAF have secured:

GOV.UK – World record RAF flight powered by synthetic fuel

Independent – RAF sets world record for first successful flight powered by synthetic fuel 

Defense News – British Air Force hails first-ever test flight using only synthetic fuel 

Renewable Energy Magazine – Zero Petroleum and the Royal Air Force announce the completion of the world’s first flight using 100 percent net-zero synthetic fuel

Metro – Video: RAF sets record for first flight using only synthetic fuel 

Find out more about Zero Petroleum’s Raising Partners Angel Syndicate Raise here.