Seemingly low-cost and energy-dense fossil fuels have been a key enabler for the Industrial Revolution that has transformed society over the past ~250 years.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that we have yet to pay the full cost of the emissions associated with their use and that we must transition to climate-neutral fuels, where we cannot avoid the use of fuels entirely.  

Unfortunately, the synthesis of climate-neutral fuels, such as hydrogen or synthetic aviation fuel, from renewable/nuclear electricity or biomass at global scales will be challenged from cost and/or land area usage perspectives.  Fortunately, geologic sources of hydrogen appear to offer tremendous potential for the production of carbon neutral (or even negative) fuels at global scales.  However, significant technical and economic challenges remain to realize the extraction of hydrogen in a cost-effective manner.  Step Function is actively developing technologies to facilitate the production of carbon negative fuels from ultramafic materials.

Even with the promise of geologic hydrogen, our transition from fossil fuels poses significant cost and performace risks to our long distance transportation systems -- including aviation, maritime and rail.  Where fuels cannot be eliminated entirely, their ultra-efficient (>70%) conversion to useful work (e.g., electric power) will be even more critical than it is today.  Step Function is actively developing system technologies to facilitate such ultra-efficient conversion for aviation -- and other transportation applications.