Bill Gates-Backed Alternative Fuel Startup Powers Energy for Amazon, American Airlines

Infinium, an alternative fuel startup backed by Bill Gates and based in Sacramento, California, has set out to create low-carbon alternatives to aviation fuel, diesel, and Naptha.

According to Bloomberg, the company’s plant in Texas is currently in operation, producing fuel for customers like Amazon. If successful, Infinium’s plans to develop sustainable fuel could play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions in demanding sectors such as trucking and aviation.

American Airlines has signed an agreement to purchase Infinium’s sustainable aviation fuel once one of its facilities starts production, potentially by 2026, according to the startup. In 2022, Infinium also secured a deal to use electrofuels to power certain Amazon delivery trucks in California.

In a statement in March, the CEO of Infinium, Robert Schuetzle, said, “Our unique position as both a technology innovator and project developer allows us comprehensive oversight of the eFuels production process, enabling us to swiftly expand our projects and increase our worldwide output of environmentally friendly eFuels.” 

Infinium’s large-scale Texas-based facility, known as Project Pathfinder, utilizes electricity from nearby wind and solar facilities to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. After this step, the hydrogen is then combined with captured CO2 to form syngas, a type of fuel gas. Infinium refines syngas into synthetic liquid fuels, giving sustainable alternatives for aviation fuel, diesel, and Naptha that can directly be used in place of petroleum-based products. Per Bloomberg, the company produces around 8,300 liters of eFuel each day.

According to Crunchbase, a company that provides information about businesses, Infinium secured investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, linked to Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy and NextEra Energy Resources, among others. In November, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst revealed a $75 million commitment in equity investment towards Infinium’s “Project Roadrunner.” The goal of this project is to transform waste CO2 into sustainable aviation fuel at a facility in West Texas.

In a 2022 statement, Kara Hurst, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide sustainability, said, “We’ve supported Infinium’s technology through our Climate Pledge Fund, and it’s exciting to see our investment turning into usable fuel that will help us, and others across the industry, decarbonize transportation in the long run.”