SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 15, 2025--
Prometheus Fuels (Prometheus), the company producing low-cost carbon neutral fuels from direct air capture and renewable electricity, today announced it has achieved the lowest-cost carbon capture in the world, reducing the cost of Direct Air Capture (DAC) by more than 80 percent compared to industry averages. At under $50 per ton, Prometheus’ DAC cost breakthrough unlocks carbon neutral fuels at fossil fuel prices, without relying on subsidies, biogenic carbon, or point-source emissions.
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The achievement is demonstrated in Prometheus’ new 200-ton-per-year DAC system, currently under construction and scheduled for completion this year. The system captures CO₂ directly from ambient air into water and feeds it into the company’s patented Faraday Reactor for immediate conversion into fuel. This streamlined approach bypasses traditional gas purification, compression, absorption and desorption, and costly infrastructure –dramatically reducing both energy use and capital requirements.
The announcement comes as policymakers, investors, and major emitters race to identify new carbon neutral power sources. With subsidy-driven approaches under pressure and most carbon capture technologies still too expensive to scale, Prometheus’ breakthrough offers a commercially ready, cost-competitive, new source of power – liquid fuels made from solar that can provide 24/7 carbon neutral electricity, propulsion, and heat anywhere in the world.
“Low-cost DAC unlocks the best solar locations, far away from point sources of CO2” said Rob McGinnis, founder and CEO of Prometheus. “By developing a new low-cost DAC technology, along with our hydrocarbon electrolysis Faraday Reactor, we’ve brought carbon capture below $50 a ton and made truly affordable e-fuels possible for the first time.”
Most DAC systems cost between $200 and $600 per ton of CO₂ captured, making it virtually impossible to produce synthetic fuels that compete with fossil fuel prices. Prometheus’ breakthrough slashes that cost by more than 80 percent, offering the first commercially viable model for scalable, carbon neutral fuel production.
Unlike conventional e-fuel approaches that rely on smokestacks or bio-derived CO₂, Prometheus’ modular, off-grid system gives it full geographic and economic flexibility. By decoupling fuel production from traditional carbon sources, Prometheus can site its systems wherever renewable electricity is cheapest, and inexpensively transport liquid fuels anywhere in the world.
“This isn’t just a scientific breakthrough, it’s a whole new business model,” added McGinnis. “When you combine ultra-low-cost DAC with modular, off-grid electrochemical fuel production, you open up access to remote, off-grid solar – the cheapest source of energy on the planet – making it available anywhere in the world as a new low-cost source of 24/7, firm, dispatchable, carbon neutral power.”
The company’s DAC costs and fuel economics were independently validated by Ramboll, a global engineering firm, in a detailed techno-economic analysis of Prometheus’ full production process.
Prometheus has operated the world’s only commercial-scale DAC prototype for more than four years. That system is actively producing e-fuels at the company’s Titan Forge Alpha pilot plant today. The new modular 200-ton system builds on this proven platform to scale production and meet growing demand from sectors including AI power, factories, green steel, aviation, shipping, and cities, where this new source of carbon neutral power can stabilize the grid by fueling peaker and baseload plants.
To see a demo of Prometheus fuel made from DAC and solar at the company’s Titan Forge Alpha pilot plant, visit: https://bit.ly/Promethean-Stang-Reveal
About Prometheus Fuels
Prometheus is the global leader in carbon neutral fuels made from direct air capture and renewable electricity to power AI data centers, factories, ships, vehicles, and aircraft. The company’s patented technology produces fuel at fossil fuel prices without subsidies, transforming energy production. Designed to run off-grid, Prometheus offers a scalable source of new power, transforming intermittent renewable energy into firm dispatchable 24/7 power, anywhere it is needed. Backed by top-tier investors including Maersk, BMW, Y Combinator, Paul Graham, Jaan Tallinn, John and Patrick Collison, Garrett Camp, and Tom Preston-Werner, Prometheus is redefining the future of energy. Learn more at prometheusfuels.com
Prometheus builds a 200-ton-per-year Direct Air Capture system at its California HQ, adding capacity to its currently operating 16-TPY system, the world’s lowest-cost DAC technology at less than $50 per ton CO₂.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday it has begun another round of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said more were coming. The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, with Trump warning that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.
U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that the military is striking “multiple targets in Iran” and that it’s being done “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
The second day of American strikes came hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — all of which host U.S. troops — came under Iranian fire. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. They also came a day after the U.S. struck Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.
Trump urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. military said it had fired on an oil tanker attempting to transport oil from Iran in violation of its blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump's comments underlined his whipsaw approach to the war; earlier this week he suggested a deal to end the conflict could be reached in a matter of days.
Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.
“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said Wednesday the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.
The military’s role was not immediately clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial ships in the area, but gave no details on military support being offered.
The U.S. military said Wednesday an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello as it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vessel disabled by U.S. forces in waters off Iran.
India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the U.S. military or the blockade.
Hawkins of U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.
The U.S. military said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites."
Iran said U.S. strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment.
Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles, which Iran said targeted an air base hosting American military aircraft.
Bahrain and Kuwait said they intercepted incoming fire.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in televised comments that, following the new attacks, Iran would review its stance on negotiations to end the war.
Efforts to mediate a deal continued. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks on Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. The helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.
A drone boat rescued the helicopter’s two crew. Trump said they were uninjured.
Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.
It's not clear how those differences can be bridged. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump said Iran was taking “too long to negotiate a deal" and "now they will have to pay the price!!!”
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group.
An airstrike on a village east of Tyre killed at least six people, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. It said two others were killed by an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern city of Sidon.
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert in Washington; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
A man runs past burning cars following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People take shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
