The aviation industry is at a critical juncture in its decarbonisation journey, and we are thrilled to announce our investment in Spark e-Fuels, a Berlin-based company developing breakthrough load-flexible e-fuel technology.
Scaling Cost-Effective E-Fuels for Aviation
Aviation accounts for approximately 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions - that’s about 1Gt CO2(e) per year. And as demand for air travel continues to rise, the industry faces mounting pressure to transition away from fossil kerosene. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are widely recognised as a key part of that solution, but their production remains constrained by high costs, reliance on continuous hydrogen supply, and grid infrastructure limitations.
This is where Spark e-Fuels is making a game-changing impact. Their proprietary e-fuel technology enables the use of cheap, intermittent renewable energy—such as wind and solar—without requiring costly hydrogen storage or continuous power availability. By decoupling key production steps, Spark’s approach cuts costs while ensuring high fuel yields, making e-fuels a viable, scalable alternative to fossil-based aviation fuels.
Why We Invested
Mathias, Julia and Arno are exactly the kind of brilliant, tenacious, scientific founders we love to work with. They identified the need for continuous energy or large amounts of hydrogen storage as a big problem for the current approach to e-fuels and set about to solve it. From the moment we met them through the whole investment process they demonstrated their expertise, passion and drive to build a truly breakthrough e-fuels company.
When it comes to the impact on GHG emissions, Spark’s focus on the massive opportunity in aviation aligns perfectly with our goals. And if you take into account the potential for this technology to be applied in the broader chemicals sector, which is itself a huge GHG emitter, it’s even more appealing.
We are proud to invest alongside Nucleus Capital (lead investor), IBB Ventures, Chemovator, Voyagers.io, and 1.5° Ventures, as well as experienced industry angels formerly from Shell, Lufthansa, BP, Siemens Energy, and McKinsey. This diverse group of backers underscores the confidence in Spark’s commercial viability and global impact potential.
The Road Ahead
With this €2.3 million pre-seed round, Spark e-Fuels is now focused on building its first pilot plant and expanding its team to accelerate commercialisation. Additionally, Spark has secured €300,000 in grants and was recognized as a winner of the 2024 UpLink Sustainable Aviation Challenge from the World Economic Forum, further validating its transformative approach.
We couldn’t be more excited to support Mathias, Julia, Arno and the whole Spark team as they unlock the future of net-zero aviation and transform the role of e-fuels in global decarbonisation. Stay tuned for more updates as they scale their groundbreaking technology!
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