NEXT Renewable Fuels

What NEXT Renewable Fuels does

NEXT Renewable Fuels (also operating as Renewal Fuels, Inc.) is a Houston-headquartered, privately-held biofuel company developing a single-asset biorefinery in Oregon to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the US West Coast aviation market. The company is pre-revenue, with SAF production scheduled to commence in 2026. Its core technology is industrial biorefinery processing aimed at converting feedstocks (supplied under a strategic agreement with BP) into drop-in SAF for commercial aviation customers, primarily airlines and aviation fuel distributors on the West Coast.

The business model is built on direct B2B enterprise offtake agreements with airline customers, with anchor alignment to United Airlines Ventures, which committed up to $37.5 million in November 2022. A subsequent $75 million funding round in April 2023 brought total disclosed funding to approximately $112.5 million, supporting facility development. The company is led by founder Christopher Efird (Executive Chairman & CEO), with Kelly Merritt serving as SVP. The company employs 101-250 people.

In December 2025, NEXT announced a proposed merger via non-binding LOI with Kepler Fusion Technologies, a fusion energy company developing the Texatron fusion power system. If consummated, the combined entity would rebrand as American Fusion and pursue a public listing on Nasdaq or TXSE, signaling a strategic pivot from pure-play SAF toward fusion energy. Pricing of SAF offtake contracts is not publicly disclosed and is expected to be negotiated bilaterally with airline counterparties.

Name

NEXT Renewable Fuels

Legal name

NEXT Renewable Fuels

Website

https://nextrenewables.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

NEXT Renewable Fuels is a Houston-based biofuel company developing an Oregon biorefinery to produce sustainable aviation fuel for US West Coast airline customers, with production targeted to begin in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

NAICS

Petroleum Refineries (32411), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (3241)

SIC

Petroleum Refining (2911)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Production (HEFA, FT, ATJ) (EUAAAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) & Alternative Fuels (e-fuels, biofuels, hydrogen) (THABANAA), Biofuel Upgrading, Hydrotreating & Refining (Co-processing, Isomerization) (EUAAAHAG), Biofuels & Renewable Fuels Switching (Biomethane/RNG, Bio-oils, Sustainable Biomass) (EUABAJAD)

Keywords

• Sustainable aviation fuel
• Renewable fuel production
• Biofuel manufacturing
• SAF biorefinery
• Aviation decarbonization

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Production and Sales: NEXT Renewable Fuels generates revenue through the production and sale of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from its Oregon biorefinery, targeting airline customers on the US West Coast starting in 2026.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

NEXT Renewable Fuels is developing a biorefinery in Oregon to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2026 onward. The facility is designed to convert feedstock (secured under an agreement with BP) into SAF for sale to airline customers on the US West Coast. The company's sole commercial offering is the physical SAF produced at the Oregon facility, sold via direct enterprise offtake arrangements.

Product overview

NEXT Renewable Fuels is a single-product company focused on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. The company's sole offering is its Oregon-based biorefinery, which is designed to produce SAF starting in 2026. The project operates with strategic location advantages and has a feedstock supply agreement with BP. NOTE: The company appears to have undergone or be undergoing a merger with Kepler Fusion Technologies (Renewal Fuels, Inc.), with plans to eventually rebrand as American Fusion and shift focus toward fusion energy systems (Texatron platform).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Drop-in renewable aviation fuel produced at NEXT's Oregon biorefinery using BP-supplied feedstock, sold under direct offtake contracts to commercial airlines and aviation fuel distributors serving the US West Coast.

Quantifiable outcome

• Will produce sustainable aviation fuel from 2026

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2022NEXT Renewable Fuels has agreements with BP for feedstock supply, providing strategic location advantages for the biorefinery operation in Oregon. BP serves as a key supplier for the sustainable aviation fuel production process.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Neste: Global leader in renewable diesel and SAF, currently the largest commercial SAF supplier to major airlines. Directly comparable as a commercial-scale biofuel producer targeting the same aviation decarbonization customers.
• World Energy: US-based SAF and renewable diesel producer operating one of the longest-running SAF biorefineries (Paramount, CA). Comparable as a North American SAF producer supplying airlines on the West Coast.
• Gevo: Developer of renewable hydrocarbons and SAF via alcohol-to-jet pathways. Comparable as a project-stage SAF producer targeting aviation customers with low-carbon intensity feedstock.
• Fulcrum BioEnergy: Waste-to-jet-fuel producer developing commercial-scale SAF facilities. Comparable as a feedstock-conversion SAF developer pursuing similar airline offtake strategies.
• Aemetis: Renewable diesel and SAF producer with operational biorefinery assets in California. Comparable as a US West Coast-adjacent low-carbon fuels producer with airline and aviation customers.
• LanzaTech: Carbon-capture-to-fuels company with SAF pathways (e.g., LanzaJet joint venture). Comparable as an alternative-route SAF technology developer targeting the same aviation fuel market.
• Velocys: Fischer-Tropsch SAF technology provider developing commercial projects with partners. Comparable as a project-stage SAF technology company pursuing commercial plant builds.
• SkyNRG: SAF-focused company developing dedicated SAF supply for the aviation industry, including project development and feedstock partnerships. Comparable as a pure-play SAF specialist.

Emerging players

• Alder Fuels: Emerging SAF technology company focused on converting woody biomass into sustainable aviation fuel. Comparable as an early-stage SAF project developer with airline partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• BP: Global energy major with growing SAF interests and an existing feedstock partnership with NEXT. Comparable as a strategic feedstock partner and as a broad incumbent with overlapping low-carbon fuels ambitions in aviation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/next-renewable-fuels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NEXT Renewable Fuels