Aircela, a New York startup, has taught the world a machine capable of manufacturing gasoline using only air, water and renewable electricity. The device, which is not exactly small, has already been shown in operation in several public demonstrations and aims to become an alternative to biofuels and a solution for those who are not yet willing to switch to electric. Below these lines we tell you all the details.
What has happened? The company presented its technology in 2025. According to collected Popular Science, its CEO, Eric Dahlgren, wanted to make it clear that it was not a simple concept on paper. “We haven’t built a prototype. We’ve built a machine that works,” he said. The goal of Aircela, founded in 2019 by Eric and Mia Dahlgren, is that this fuel can be poured directly into the tank of any gasoline car without touching the engine.
How it works. According to they count those responsible, the process is divided into three phases. First, a fan introduces air into the machine, which passes through a network capable of retaining CO2 and generating a liquid carbon solution. An electrolyzer then separates that solution while producing hydrogen from water. Finally, a compressor combines both elements to create methanol, which is refined into ready-to-use gasoline.
The result, as detailed by the company itself in different demonstrations, is a fuel without sulfur, ethanol or heavy metals, compatible with current engines without the need for any modification.
Between the lines. Current performance is, for now, modest. And each machine captures around 10 kilos of CO2 per day and thus produces a single gallon of gasoline (about 3.8 liters), with a storage capacity of up to 17 gallons (about 65 liters) in the tank, according to share the middle. This means that we would not be able to fill a car’s tank for several days. Furthermore, just as share In Futurism, the process consumes approximately twice as much energy as is ultimately stored in the fuel, putting its efficiency below 50%.
Even so, Aircela maintains that using independent solar panels, the electricity cost would remain below a dollar and a half per gallon.
The but. Dahlgren insists that its technology does not compete with the electric car, but rather complements it in those uses where replacing the vehicle is not viable in the short term, such as freight transportation, motor racing or areas without sufficient electrical infrastructure. In fact, the ABC7 media points out that the company has no intention of manufacturing larger machines to produce more fuel, but rather of multiplying the number of units, something similar to how a solar farm works.
Who is behind. Aircela has managed to raise nearly $5.5 million to date, according to data from Pitchbook. Its investors include Chris Larsen, founder of Ripple; Jeff Ubben, ExxonMobil activist advisor; and Maersk Growth, the venture capital fund of the Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk. Morten Bo Christiansen, head of energy transition at Maersk, explained in a statement collected by Carbon Herald that the shipping company invested because of the startup’s innovative approach and that it hopes, over time, to go from being an investor to becoming a client.
The technology, furthermore, draws directly from the work of physicist Klaus Lackner, pioneer of direct air capture and Dahlgren’s former mentor during his PhD at Columbia University.
And now what. There is still no talk of commercial deployment, but the first uses of this machine would be focused on industrial, commercial clients and areas without access to the electrical grid, according to share from Interesting Engineering. Aircela has also negotiated with several car manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover, as well as an American manufacturer and another German whose names it did not reveal, according to they claim from Observer. The price of each unit could range between 15,000 and 20,000 dollars, as share from Futurism, although Aircela is confident that mass production will lower the cost over time.
Images | Aircela
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