Zero Petroleum (“Zero”), the leading producer of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel made from just air and water, has released more details after it CEO and founder Paddy Lowe returned to Formula 1
Zero announced two weeks ago it is an Official Partner of the Swiss team Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Zero is joining at an exciting time for the squad. The new season saw the team bearing a fresh brand name and a diverse team of partners hopefully to further broaden the reach of F1’s surging fandom.
Zero is one of the world leaders in synthetic and alternative fuel in the aircraft industry: it works with Rolls-Royce combining expertise in aviation technology and synthetic fuels to support and accelerate the United Arab Emirates’ power-to-liquids (PtL) aviation roadmap and it works with Boeing on sustainable aircraft fuels. It also produced the synthetic aircraft fuel used by the Royal Air Force in the UK for testing.
While Zero and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber may be new names under the F1 umbrella, both teams bring decades of track experience and proven success to the sport.
Sauber was rebranded as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber for the 2024 Formula 1 campaign, following the departure of their title sponsor Alfa Romeo.
The Swiss team will operate under this banner for the next two seasons before rebranding as Audi in 2026 when they become the German manufacturer’s works squad.
Stake joined Sauber as co-title partner for 2023 and will now level up the partnership as the sole title partner, including full naming rights of the operation.
Zero CEO Paddy Lowe’s F1 career spans 32 years, playing a major role in 12 World Championships, 158 race wins and leading one of the most successful seasons in F1 history. Zero’s team features a number of elite former F1 engineers and has applied the same mindset that led to success on the track into the creation of 100% fossil-free, drop-in synthetic fuels. The British motor racing engineer and former Technical Executive Director of the Mercedes Formula One team. For 2017, he became Williams‘ chief technical officer.
Mr Lowe said: “As Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber begins the 2024 season with a fresh new identity, it’s clear that the team is embracing forward thinking on and off the track.
“Zero has implemented F1 values into everything we do, from our technical approach to our relentless pursuit of performance, and we look forward to discovering even greater synergy by working with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber and their drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. When a team’s partnership roster includes a Guinness-World-Record-holding synthetic fuel company alongside rap superstar Drake, you know they’re serious about expanding the sport to new audiences.
Damon Hill, F1 legend and Zero investor said: “I was keen to join Zero as an early investor because I so strongly believe in Paddy’s mission and his undeniable credentials. That was just a short time ago, and the progress Zero has made since then has been nothing short of remarkable.
“It comes as no surprise to me that Zero is teaming up with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber to support their 2024 campaign, as the pace of Zero’s development and drive toward net zero is comparable only to that found in Formula 1. The sport is in good hands with Zero and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber joining forces, and I look forward to the coming season with even more interest.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber Team Representative said: “The world of Formula One is one of constant innovation, in which boundaries are broken and new frontiers explored. This is even more so when it comes to sustainability: it’s not just the know-how of our sport that can play an important part, but also the ingenuity of the men and women behind every bit of research and development. At Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, we take our commitment to sustainability seriously, and our partnership with Zero is another step on the path to 100% carbon-neutral, drop-in synthetic fuel. Both Zero and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber are new names in Formula 1 – there’s nobody better placed to explore technical solutions the world has never seen before.”
About Zero Petroleum ZERO. FUEL REINVENTED. Zero Petroleum (“Zero”) is a breakthrough energy company that develops and manufactures whole-blend synthetic, non-biological fuels – gasoline, diesel and jet fuel – in a completely fossil-free process, using just carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water. Zero’s proprietary DirectFT® fuel synthesis process has demonstrated industry-leading fuel quality and production efficiency.
Synthetic fuels (e-fuels, electrofuels, PtL, eSAF) are fully sustainable and circular in material, they retain the critical energy density of liquid fuels, and they can be manufactured at unlimited scale, therefore providing the only solution to the total de-fossilization of the majority of transport sectors including aviation, heavy transport, marine and agriculture. Founded by Formula 1® legend Paddy Lowe, Zero has performance in its DNA and is leading change within the sport as an Official Partner of Stake F1® Team Kick Sauber. Zero recently opened the world’s first fully featured synthetic fuel plant (Plant Zero.1) near Oxford, UK and has plans to build a commercial-scale plant which is to begin production in 2026.
