Twelve raises $645 million to commercialize eSAF production

AirPlant One under construction in Moses Lake, Washington. (Photo: Twelve)

Twelve, a carbon-transformation company that converts captured carbon dioxide into chemicals, fuels and other products typically made from fossil fuels, announced Sept. 19 $645 million in funding.

This raise is a strategic mix of capital that includes $400 million in project equity led by TPG Rise Climate, $200 million in Series C financing, and an additional $45 million in credit facilities from leading funders in the renewable energy sector—marking what Twelve said is one of the largest financing rounds to date in the eFuels space.

The funding accelerates Twelve’s goals of defossilizing manufacturing processes, focusing first on emissions generated by aviation.

This includes the completion of AirPlant™ One, Twelve’s inaugural sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant located in Moses Lake, Washington, which is expected to begin production in 2025.

AirPlant One is the first of many facilities throughout the country to make E-Jet® fuel, using the company’s patented technology to produce SAF derived from biogenic CO2, water and renewable energy sources, which achieves lifecycle emissions up to 90 percent lower than conventional fossil-based jet fuel.

TPG Rise Climate has committed up to $400 million in project-equity financing to support the development of future AirPlants, which will supply Twelve’s E-Jet fuel to customers like Alaska Airlines and International Aviation Group, parent company of British Airways.

Launched in 2021, TPG Rise Climate is a $7.3 billion climate-impact fund by alternative asset manager TPG’s global impact investing platform.

“We are drawn to companies and founders that have developed and proven unique solutions to complex problems,” said Jonathan Garfinkel, managing partner at TPG Rise Climate. “Twelve is a clear leader in CO2-conversion technology, which is a core part of the power-to-liquids technology stack and the process we believe represents the long-term, scalable solution for SAF production.”

Elizabeth Stone, principal at TPG Rise Climate and a member of Twelve’s board of directors, added, “The energy transition will require a clean alternative to traditional jet fuel. SAF demand continues to grow, and we look forward to partnering with Twelve to build world-class capabilities and facilities to meet that demand.”

In addition to project-equity financing, TPG is leading Twelve’s Series C round alongside Capricorn Investment Group and Pulse Fund.

Twelve has raised approximately $200 million with Fifth Wall, northstar.vc, TGVP, Alaska Airlines’ investment arm Alaska Star Ventures, and existing investors such as Series B lead investor DCVC, Munich Re Ventures, Emerson Collective and others.

“Over the last several years we have appreciated getting to know the team at Twelve,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines. “Together we are building a multilevel partnership to expand supply, mature the market for SAF, and to soon use their E-Jet fuel in our operations. Twelve’s technology is promising in the pursuit of long-term scalable supply of SAF. In order to meet our company’s—and our industry’s—ambitious decarbonization goals, we need new technologies like the one Twelve has developed and commercialized. We are excited to be part of this round of forward-looking funders to make a more sustainable future for aviation possible.”

Most recently, Twelve also raised $45 million in total loans across two lenders.

Clean-energy investment firm Fundamental Renewables provided a $25 million construction loan, and multinational bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. closed a $20 million green loan in support of Twelve’s carbon-transformation technology.

“Our financing strategy has been to build a comprehensive capital stack that enables us to deliver product to customers at scale while continually driving down costs,” said Twelve CEO Nicholas Flanders. “We’re proud to work with visionary financing partners and collaborators who share our commitment to deploying first-of-a-kind technologies that address climate change at scale.”