The Company
Making e-SAF Cost-Competitive
Founded in Zürich in 2023 by chemical engineers and process AI specialists. We create the software layer that decides whether methanol-to-jet plants earn a return, rather than merely function.
Our Purpose
From Feasible to Commercial
Methanol-to-jet technology has reached pilot-scale proof. Its catalytic chemistry is understood, the ASTM approval route is defined, and supplies of green methanol and biomethanol are expanding. What remains unproven is whether conventional process control can deliver acceptable commercial-scale returns.
Metafuels was created to close this gap. In modeling the economics of a 50 ktpa MtJ facility, the founders found two leading cost drivers: catalyst replacement frequency and off-spec product losses. Both stem directly from poor process control and can be addressed with AI models capturing the linked kinetics of the four-stage reaction sequence.
We measure success by the levelized SAF cost at plants using our software versus those without it. Our target is a 15-22% cut in production cost per tonne. At today's SAF prices, that difference separates a viable project from a stranded asset.
Our Team
Engineers Grounded in This Chemistry
Saurabh Kapoor
CEO and Co-Founder
Saurabh brings process systems engineering experience from an industrial catalysis OEM, followed by years developing predictive control software for refinery operations. He co-founded Metafuels to bring that model-based optimization method to e-SAF, where refinery-scale unit operations run in smaller, more dynamic plant configurations.
Tobias Maurer
CTO and Co-Founder
Tobias researched computational fluid dynamics for reactive multi-phase flows, then developed physics-informed neural networks for high-temperature catalytic processes at a European research institute. He designed the Metafuels digital twin, linking thermodynamic models with online-trained ML correction layers for accurate real-time operations.
Lars Henriksen
Head of Process Engineering
Lars brings decades of field engineering experience at methanol synthesis and Fischer-Tropsch plants across Northern Europe and the Middle East. He leads Metafuels plant commissioning engagements and turns field conditions into model-training datasets. His knowledge of catalyst deactivation curves under commercial operating pressure anchors the platform's lifetime prediction module.
Celine Morel
Head of Sustainability
Celine previously specialized in carbon accounting and lifecycle analysis at a large European aviation sustainability consultancy, helping airlines and fuel suppliers plan CORSIA compliance and structure SAF offtake. At Metafuels, she created the compliance reporting framework and keeps the platform aligned with ASTM D7566, ReFuelEU, and UK SAF mandate audit requirements.
Our Base
Based in Zürich
Switzerland offers a stable legal and IP setting for industrial software companies and places us within one hour of major e-fuel research institutes and petrochemical engineering contractors working in MtJ.
Metafuels AG
Förrlibuckstrasse 110
8005 Zürich, Switzerland
Speak with Our Engineers
We begin with technical discussion, not commercial pitches. Share your process configuration and we will arrange a working session with our engineers, not a sales presentation.