Fuel is one of the most important components in Satisfactory. Within minutes you’ll notice that virtually every machine needs power. While your early options are fairly limited, each new milestone adds more. From Biomass to nuclear fuels, Satisfactory offers the lot! You’ll also need fuel for vehicles, your Jetpack and the Chainsaw, so it’s essential to use the best fuel for each job. Today we’ll look at every fuel type, when and how to use it, and which ones are most worthwhile.
Satisfactory early-game fuel: Biomass and natural resources
Your initial fuel sources are straightforward and must be gathered by hand. The planet has plenty of Leaves and Wood, which you can use as your first source of electricity. For this you’ll use the Biomass Burner, either the one built into your HUB or standalone units you unlock later. You can also use Mycelia and alien remains. All of these fuels can also power vehicles.
You should quickly convert natural items into Biomass, which you can craft in a Constructor. This lets you generate significantly more energy. In Tier 2 you also unlock Solid Biofuel, which is more efficient again. This fuel is also used for the Jetpack and Chainsaw. Later, you can combine this biomass with water to make Liquid Biofuel, which is as effective as regular oil-derived Fuel.
Satisfactory mid-game power: Coal, Oil and Fuel
Coal becomes available at Tier 3 and is a huge upgrade over Biomass. You can extract it automatically with Miners, so you no longer need to gather by hand. It’s a great step up and the perfect bridge into the mid game.
There are two other coal variants you can use:
- Petroleum Coke: Produced from Heavy Oil Residue, a by-product of oil processing. It is weaker than regular Coal.
- Compacted Coal: Can be made in several ways. The best is the alternate recipe from Coal and Sulphur. It is more efficient than regular Coal.
The next major fuel after Coal is standard Fuel from Oil, unlocked in Tier 5. There are many variants and recipes here, which makes this energy source so versatile. It’s extremely important in the mid game and will keep your factory supplied with plenty of power.
The yellow Fuel is refined from crude oil. This produces Polymer Resin as a by-product, which you can turn into Plastic or Rubber. A second option is to use Heavy Oil Residue to make Fuel. If you still have Solid Biofuel left over, you can also convert it into a liquid form as mentioned above.
You can also upgrade standard Fuel further. Enriching it with Coal gives you Turbofuel. To unlock these recipes you must research Sulphur in the MAM. Alternatively, you can combine Heavy Oil Residue with Compacted Coal.
All of the fuels mentioned are liquids, so they only run in the Fuel Generator. To use them in vehicles and the Jetpack, you must package them. Packaged fuels are also excellent for transport, especially in the middle of the game. Learn more in our article: (Satisfactory transport guide: conveyor belts, vehicles, trains and hypertubes) .
Satisfactory late-game power: Nuclear, Rocket and Ionised Fuel
Staying with fuel, there are two ways to make it even more effective. In the Sulphur branch of MAM research you also unlock Rocket Fuel and Ionised Fuel, both highly efficient and perfect for the late game. Both can also be packaged for use in vehicles.
- Rocket Fuel: Crafted from Turbofuel and Nitric Acid. For this you need Nitrogen Gas, which you can extract from Resource Wells or synthesise late-game using SAM along with Caterium and Bauxite. The setup is complex, but absolutely worth it.
- Ionised Fuel: By adding Power Shards to Rocket Fuel you can produce Ionised Fuel. You only get these shards from Power Slugs, which you must collect manually.
Although Ionised Fuel yields more energy, it’s generally not worth the effort. Rocket Fuel is the best all-round fuel in the game if you don’t opt for nuclear. It’s relatively straightforward to make and even produces extra coke/coal by-products for other uses.
You can, of course, go for nuclear, which only unlocks at Tier 8. It produces more power than you’ll likely ever need, but the setup is far more complex than Rocket Fuel, so it’s not always recommended unless you enjoy the challenge.
Think of nuclear power in Satisfactory as a kind of chain reaction. You start with Uranium Fuel Rods, which require Uranium Ore and other materials. You’ll also have to manage radiation, which makes this power source trickier. On top of that, running reactors generates Uranium Waste, which isn’t easy to dispose of.
Thankfully you can process this waste into Plutonium. However, this involves multiple steps and complex factories: you’ll produce several intermediates to end up with Plutonium Pellets and convert them into fuel rods. A single Plutonium Fuel Rod produces 1.5 million MJ — twice Uranium and over 400 times Rocket Fuel. Whether the effort is worth it is debatable.
And Plutonium also produces waste, which you then use to make Ficsonium — a fictional nuclear fuel that requires yet another full factory to produce. It’s also much more radioactive than the other two. But it’s the end of the nuclear chain, because Ficsonium leaves no waste. It is, however, only a tenth as effective as Plutonium.
Conclusion: The best fuels in Satisfactory from Biomass to Nuclear
Progress is everything — and that’s clear from the fuels available in Satisfactory. You’ll start by burning simple Leaves and Wood, then advance through Coal and Oil to nuclear power. With that, nothing will stand in the way of your factory empire. We definitely recommend Rocket Fuel for the late game, while nuclear can be a major challenge.
If you want to experience Satisfactory together with your friends, rent one of our Satisfactory servers. You can try out the different fuels together and decide which you like best.
