10171694Controlled Microbial Upcycling of waste feedstocks by leveraging advances in synthetic biology and AI to produce sustainable materials like carbon-negative aviation fuels.ClosedFast Start ResponseInnovate UKThe chemical industry is the largest fossil fuel consumer, with about half its demand used for carbon-based feedstocks. Scalable, renewable alternatives are lacking. Aviation fuel is a key example, relying heavily on fossil-derived crude oil. As the most emission-intensive mode of transport, aviation causes **3.6 Gt CO****2****e** global warming annually and is responsible for **8% of UK's emissions**. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) are the only viable decarbonisation solution compatible with existing infrastructure. However, current SAF pathways struggle to scale due to high energy and capital costs. At the core of this problem is **a fundamental inefficiency**: current SAF pathways break down complex feedstocks into simple molecules (syngas) only to rebuild them back into complex hydrocarbons (jet fuel). This is an extremely energy- and cost-inefficient route. At Neela Biotech, we address this challenge and preserve the valuable feedstock complexity through our **Controlled Microbial Upcycling (CMU) process**. Inspired by anaerobic digestion, CMU leverages recent advances in engineering biology and AI to convert food, agricultural, and seaweed waste into carbon-negative fatty acids (FAs). These FAs are valuable building blocks for fossil-intensive sectors like fuels, plastics, and industrial chemicals. Our initial commercial focus is SAF, where demand is surging due to airlines net-zero targets and global mandates. SAF derived from our FAs offers **reduced lifecycle emissions by up to 165% with** the potential to reach **cost parity with fossil jet fuel**. We can repurpose biogas infrastructure and use existing HEFA refineries, enabling fast scale-up in the **$391B jet fuel market.** Neela Biotech's greatest asset is its founding team, **bringing a rare interdisciplinary edge to the SAF challenge**. CEO Deepanshu Singh brings a decade of sustainable aviation experience and CTO Friederike Nintzel is specialised in developing experimental and AI-tools to engineer enzymes and microbes for the bio-production of chemicals. Neela **won the** **2025 Climate Challenge**, was selected for the **IAG/British Airways Innovation Accelerator**, won in the UK Climate Launchpad finals and is now heading to the EU finals, as well as recently secured a grant from the Henry-Royce Institute. Through our Innovate UK project, we aim to **advance the field of mixed culture fermentation via AI-driven microbial community engineering**. The project covers the experimental work required for our **MVP development** and will **make us ready for VC investments.**