Twelve

Market position

Twelve is one of the companies commercializing power-to-liquid e-fuels; its September 2024 raise was described as one of the largest in the e-fuels space, and AirPlant One is described as the first U.S. commercial-scale power-to-liquid sustainable aviation fuel plant. The company cites projections of a $66.25 billion global e-fuels market by 2030.

Rather than offsetting or storing carbon underground, Twelve's process substitutes CO2 for petroleum as the feedstock in conventional manufacturing, producing drop-in hydrocarbons compatible with existing aviation and chemical infrastructure. Its stated cost-reduction strategy is scaling to larger facilities with a repeatable plant design; management has acknowledged that its fuel is currently more expensive than incumbent jet fuel.

Technology

Twelve uses polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis with metal catalysts at the cathode to split CO2 into carbon monoxide and oxygen, and water into hydrogen. The resulting syngas is converted via a Fischer-Tropsch reactor into liquid hydrocarbons, then a hydrocracker shortens long chains into jet-fuel-range molecules, with residual streams recycled. The company packages this in its Opus System and AirPlant Power-to-X platform, and has described the approach as "industrial photosynthesis." The technology has also been applied to CO2 in raw biogas to produce methane, and to producing polycarbonate and polypropylene precursors.

Go-to-market

Twelve develops its products through partnerships with large industrial and transport corporations, including Mercedes-Benz and Trinseo (polycarbonate automotive component), SoCalGas and PG&E (biogas CO2 conversion), LanzaTech (polypropylene), NASA (resource generation in space), and Alaska Airlines, International Airlines Group and Microsoft for aviation fuel offtake and use.

Business customers in aviation, shipping and transportation, chemicals and consumer goods manufacturing that use petroleum-derived fuels, chemicals and materials.

Geography

Operations centered on AirPlant One in Moses Lake, Washington, chosen in part for reliable low-cost power. The company has been described as based in Berkeley, California and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its investor base includes Japanese institutions and corporates, and it has aviation customers in the United States and Europe.

History

The company was part of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's first Cyclotron Road cohort and participated in the Techstars 2018 program. It rebranded from Opus 12 to Twelve and raised a $57 million Series A in 2021 and $130 million in Series B funding in June 2022. Partnerships followed with Mercedes and Trinseo (2020), SoCalGas and PG&E (2020) and LanzaTech (2021). In September 2024 Twelve announced $645 million in combined project equity, Series C equity and credit facilities, followed by an additional $85 million in Series C and project funding announced in 2025. Construction of AirPlant One in Moses Lake, Washington began with a groundbreaking in 2023; the facility held its ribbon-cutting in June 2026 with Washington Governor Bob Ferguson attending. Twelve has also closed a credit facility of up to $45 million for AirPlant One with Nomura and Endurance Capital, refinancing the construction loan.

Risks & controversies

Twelve's fuel is currently more expensive to produce than conventional jet fuel, and the company's strategy depends on driving costs down through scale and access to cheap reliable electricity. Its expansion also relies on supportive state policy such as potential tax credits. The Wikipedia entry on the company carries maintenance notices regarding a contributor with a close connection to the subject and questions about notability.