Aether Fuels raises $8.5 million to develop sustainable fuels for aviation, ocean shipping

Climate-tech startup Aether Fuels announced Dec. 14 that it has raised $8.5 million in pre-Series A financing via convertible notes.

The global syndicate includes JetBlue Ventures, the corporate venture-capital (CVC) division of JetBlue; TechEnergy Ventures, the CVC division of the Techint Group; Doral Energy Tech Ventures, the CVC division of Doral Energy; Foothill Ventures and existing investor Xora Innovation.

Aether makes sustainable fuels to enable large industries like aviation and ocean shipping to achieve net-zero emissions.

The fuel is made from low-cost and abundant waste-carbon streams, such as captured carbon dioxide, industrial waste gases, municipal solid waste, agricultural residues and waste biomass.

According to Aether, its novel process combines feedstock flexibility with maximum yield and reducing plant capital costs, enabling better unit economics while also meeting stringent sustainability criteria.

Aether will use the funds to accelerate the development and scale up of its proprietary production technologies, expand its demo facility in Chicago, Illinois, and grow the global team.

“We are grateful to our investors for their confidence in our technology approach and scalable global business strategy,” said Aether CEO Conor Madigan. “Their support caps a year of breakthroughs that validated our technology and crystallized our roadmap to commercialization. In addition, we appointed experienced sustainable fuel executives to key R&D, operations and engineering leadership roles in the U.S. and Singapore, and started planning for manufacturing scale up. Thanks to our valued investors, we enter 2024 with greater capacity to innovate, execute and drive growth.”

Ryan Chou, managing director of JetBlue Ventures, added, “Advances in sustainable technology are crucial to the future and longevity of aviation. Aether’s team first caught our attention because of their novel technology and credible go-to-market plan, and the potential of their innovations to drive significantly better SAF unit economics motivated us to invest. We are pleased to support the team in their next phase of growth.”

Alejandro Solé, chief investment officer at TechEnergy Ventures, said, "Sustainable fuels are critical to the energy transition and Aether brings a highly differentiated approach to the table. Our diligence convinced us that their experienced team and core technology, and in particular their feedstock flexibility, high yield and deep process intensification will enable Aether to become an industry leader.”

Established in 2022 as a spinoff of Xora Innovation, a deep-tech early-stage investment platform of Temasek, Aether maintains principal offices in the U.S. and Singapore.