NASA selects AIR COMPANY to Continue its Development of Sustainable Fuels

We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with NASA through a new Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II award. This funding will enable AIR COMPANY to make substantial advancements toward producing rocket fuel on Mars and developing a more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on Earth.

You might be wondering why NASA selected us for Phase II funding. Our AIRMADE™ Technology transforms carbon dioxide into paraffins and aromatics, which are the molecular building blocks for aviation and rocket fuel (among other things). Unique to us, this synthetic crude can be made in a single step, using only carbon dioxide and hydrogen as feedstocks. Our application for the STTR competition explained that our AIRMADE Technology has the potential to serve as a viable solution for NASA, and others in the space industry, by producing fuel that helps to improve the sustainability of space exploration. Additionally, our technology can be used on Mars to produce fuel using only the Martian atmosphere, water, and solar photovoltaic electricity. This fuel could be used to power habitats on Mars, used as propellant for a return trip to Earth, or used as a chemical feedstock for further in-situ resource utilization. You can read more about our winning application here.

Our partnership with NASA runs deep. AIR COMPANY has previously won top prizes in NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) and CO2 Conversion Challenge (2021) to produce single-cell proteins and sugar molecules from CO₂. These innovations could enable astronauts to produce food, medicine, vitamins, and construction materials using only local resources, on Mars or during exceptionally long space journeys.

The applications of our technology are seemingly limitless. We believe in the potential of our technology to significantly impact the planet and foster a more sustainable future, whether it be in fuel (or food) for this world or others. Congratulations to our research partners at New York University, with whom we share this award, and thank you to NASA for the opportunity to help us support your future missions.