Cambridge-based start-up Neela Biotech has raised 2.1 million pounds in pre-seed funding to advance its technology for converting food, agricultural and forestry waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), reported Circular Online.
The funding will support the development of a pilot-scale trial at a biogas plant over the next two years. The company’s technology uses an AI-guided microbial process to convert waste materials into fatty acids, which serve as key feedstocks for the production of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA)-based SAF.
Neela’s process builds on anaerobic digestion, a biological method in which microorganisms break down organic matter. The technology is designed to work with existing biogas infrastructure, which is already widely established across Europe, rather than requiring the construction of new production facilities.
The company believes this approach could lower the capital investment needed to produce SAF at commercial scale. It also describes the process as energy-efficient, using controlled microbial conversion instead of the energy-intensive thermochemical methods employed in conventional fuel production.
Neela Biotech Chief Executive Officer Deepanshu Singh said the company’s controlled microbial upcycling technology combines advances in artificial intelligence and synthetic biology to convert different waste streams, including food and agricultural residues, into feedstocks suitable for HEFA-based SAF production.
He added that integrating the process with existing biogas plants could reduce infrastructure costs, speed up deployment and support decentralised fuel production. The latest funding would help the company progress towards its pilot trial and advance its efforts to make locally produced SAF competitive with conventional aviation fuel.
The 2.1 million pound funding round was led by Elbow Beach, with participation from Ascension, Cambridge Enterprise, Ventures Together and angel investors.
Neela is also part of the IAG innovation programme and has received grant support from Innovate UK and the Henry Royce Institute.
Jonathan Pollock, Chief Executive Officer of Elbow Beach, said the aviation sector needed commercially scalable alternatives as fuel costs continued to put pressure on the industry. He noted that Neela’s model had an advantage in its use of existing biogas infrastructure, which could avoid the high capital costs associated with developing new facilities. Its low-energy microbial process could also help the company move towards cost competitiveness with fossil-based jet fuel.
