---
title: "Jet Zero’s ~$21.6M Series C: Qantas, Airbus, and POSCO Finance Australian SAF Buildout"
description: "Jet Zero Australia closed A$30M (~$21.6M) Series C with Qantas and Airbus returning and POSCO International joining — total >A$80M as Project Ulysses clears Queensland approval ahead of FID."
date: 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
tags: ["2026-vc-news", "startup-funding", "venture-capital", "climate-tech", "saf", "australia-vc"]
source: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/2026-jet-zero-30m-aud-series-c-qantas-airbus-posco
---

# Jet Zero’s ~$21.6M Series C: Qantas, Airbus, and POSCO Finance Australian SAF Buildout

> Jet Zero Australia closed A$30M (~$21.6M) Series C with Qantas and Airbus returning and POSCO International joining — total >A$80M as Project Ulysses clears Queensland approval ahead of FID.

**Jet Zero Australia** closed an **A$30 million (~US$21.6 million) Series C** on **September 7, 2026**, with **Qantas** and **Airbus** returning and **POSCO International** joining — taking disclosed capital **above A$80 million (~US$57.6 million)** as **Project Ulysses** cleared Queensland final development approval (**Aviacionline / company**).

**Spine:** this is not a software growth print — it is **buyer-side and industrial capital** financing the gap between FEED and FID on a domestic Alcohol-to-Jet plant.

## Key facts

| Field | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Company | [Jet Zero Australia](/startup/jet-zero-australia) ([jetzero.com.au](https://www.jetzero.com.au/)) |
| Round | **A$30M (~$21.6M)** Series C → **>A$80M** cumulative |
| Investors | Qantas, Airbus, **POSCO International** (new); prior strategic **Idemitsu** |
| Advisor | Barrenjoey |
| Project | Ulysses — Cleveland Bay Industrial Park, Townsville |
| Capacity plan | Up to **~113M liters/year** SAF + renewable diesel (~90% SAF); ~**183M L/year** ethanol feedstock via **LanzaJet** AtJ |
| Public support cited | ARENA **A$9M**, Queensland **A$5M** for FEED |
| Valuation | **Not company-disclosed**; Aviacionline/AFR cite media band **~A$500M (~$360M)** |
| Status | FEED done; **FID and construction still open**; production estimate **2028–2029** |

## Who uses the product — and for what job

**Users:** airlines under SAF mandate pressure, aircraft OEMs under Scope 3 pressure, and industrial partners that can offtake fuel or secure feedstock.

**Job:** produce **domestic low-carbon liquid fuels** from agricultural bioethanol so Australian aviation is less dependent on imported HEFA/SAF and volatile oil markets.

**Named demand signal:** Qantas has publicly targeted **SAF as 10% of jet fuel by 2030** (~600 million liters) — one plant of Ulysses’ planned size is a meaningful but incomplete piece of that math.

## Why now

- Oil-price volatility and Middle East supply risk raised the political value of **sovereign fuel** (AFR framing around the raise).
- Australia is consulting demand-incentive frameworks that could de-risk offtake economics.
- Global SAF remains short; HEFA feedstock competition is intense — Alcohol-to-Jet from local ag by-products is a different supply path.

## Why these investors — portfolio / strategic fit

| Investor | Likely reason |
| --- | --- |
| **Qantas** | Future offtaker; needs domestic liters against a 2030 SAF target |
| **Airbus** | OEM customer pressure + regional industrial policy alignment |
| **POSCO International** | Energy/industrial scale; exploring **fuel and feedstock offtake** (company) |
| **Idemitsu** (prior) | Asian refining/energy adjacency from earlier round |

Strategics here behave like **ecosystem LPs**: they can buy the output, supply inputs, or both — more useful than a logo for a hard-asset project.

## What is not proven

- **FID** is not taken; construction capital will dwarf this Series C.
- Valuation ~A$500M is **media-reported**, not a company figure.
- Production start **2028–2029** is a plan, not a contracted delivery date.
- Public FEED grants do not equal plant financing.

## Implication

The cheque that matters next is the one that closes **FID** — likely project finance plus offtake, not another A$30M equity print. Until then, Jet Zero is a **policy + strategic-capital** story: buyers and industrials writing equity to keep a Townsville AtJ option alive.

### Sources

1. [Aviacionline — A$30M / ~$21.6M](https://www.aviacionline.com/english/sustainable-aviation/airbus-and-qantas-back-us-21-6-million-investment-to-produce-saf-in-australia_a6a9e7afb30b2041eb7df19d3)
2. [BioBased Diesel — milestones](https://www.biobased-diesel.com/post/jet-zero-australia-achieves-3-major-milestones-for-renewable-diesel-saf-project-in-townsville)
3. [AFR — POSCO](https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/posco-joins-qantas-airbus-in-bumper-jet-zero-capital-raising-20260904-p60uj7)

**By:** [Venture Capital Tracker](https://venturecapitaltracker.com/editorial-policy)

**Editorial note:** AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.