Fuel is one of the most important components in Satisfactory. Within minutes you’ll notice that almost every machine needs power. While the options at the start are still quite limited, more become available as you unlock milestones. From biomass to nuclear fuels, Satisfactory has it all. You’ll also need fuel for vehicles, your jetpack, and the chainsaw, so it’s important to use the best fuel for each situation. Today we’ll look at every fuel type, how and when to use them, and which ones are most worthwhile.
Satisfactory Early Game Fuel: Biomass and Natural Resources
The initial fuel sources are straightforward and must be gathered by hand. The planet is full of Leaves and Wood, which you can use as your first source of electricity. To do this, use the Biomass Burner built into your HUB or the standalone version you unlock later. You can also use Mycelium and alien remains. All of these fuels can also power vehicles.
You should quickly convert natural products into Biomass, which you can craft in a Constructor. This yields significantly more energy. In Tier 2 you also unlock Solid Biofuel, which is even more effective. This fuel is also used for the Jetpack and Chainsaw. Later, you can combine this biomass with water to make Liquid Biofuel, which is just as effective as standard oil-based Fuel.
Satisfactory Mid Game Power: Coal, Oil, and Fuel
Coal becomes available in Tier 3 and is a major upgrade over biomass. You can mine it automatically with miners and no longer have to search for resources yourself. It’s a great upgrade and a natural bridge into the mid game.
There are two other coal-based options 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 produced in several ways; the best is the alternate recipe from Coal and Sulfur. It is more effective than regular Coal.
The next big step after Coal is standard Fuel from oil, unlocked in Tier 5. You get many different processing options here, which makes this power source so practical. It’s extremely important in the mid game and will provide plenty of power.
The yellow Fuel is produced from crude oil. This creates Polymer Resin as a by-product, which you can turn into other products like 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 now also convert it into a liquid form as described above.
Another option is upgrading standard Fuel further. If you combine it with Compacted Coal, you get Turbofuel. To unlock these recipes you need to research Sulfur in the MAM. Alternatively, you can combine Heavy Oil Residue and Compacted Coal.
All of these fuels are liquids, so you can only burn them in the Fuel Generator. To use them in vehicles and the Jetpack, you must package them. Packaged fuels are a great solution for transport as well, especially in the middle part of the game. Learn more in our article: (Satisfactory Transport Guide: Conveyor Belts, Vehicles, Trains, and Hypertubes) .
Satisfactory Late Game Power: Nuclear, Rocket Fuel, and Ionized Fuel
Sticking with liquid fuels, there are two ways to make them even more effective. In the Sulfur branch of MAM research you unlock Rocket Fuel and Ionized Fuel, both extremely powerful and perfect for the late game. Both can also be packaged for vehicle use.
- Rocket Fuel: Produced from Turbofuel and Nitric Acid. For this you need Nitrogen Gas, which you can extract from resource wells or produce using reactivated SAM as well as Caterium and Bauxite. The setup is complex, but absolutely worth it.
- Ionized Fuel: Add Power Shards to Rocket Fuel to make Ionized Fuel. You only get these shards from Power Slugs, which you have to collect manually.
Even though Ionized Fuel produces more energy, it’s generally not worth the extra effort. Rocket Fuel, on the other hand, is the best fuel in the entire game if you don’t want to go nuclear. It’s relatively easy to produce and also yields additional coal for other uses.
You can also use nuclear power, unlocked in Tier 8. It produces more energy than you’ll likely ever need, but the setup is much more complex than Rocket Fuel, so it’s not always recommended unless you enjoy the challenge.
Think of nuclear in Satisfactory as a chain reaction. You start with Uranium Fuel Rods, which require Uranium Ore and other materials. You must also deal with radiation, which makes this power source more difficult. In addition, producing uranium power creates Uranium Waste, which is not easy to get rid of.
Thankfully, you can convert this waste into Plutonium. But that again requires multiple steps and complex factories, because you’ll need to craft several intermediates to finally create Plutonium Pellets and turn them into fuel rods. A single Plutonium Fuel Rod produces 1.5 million MJ, twice as much as Uranium and over 400 times as much as Rocket Fuel. Whether the effort is worth it is debatable.
And Plutonium also creates waste, which you then need for producing Ficsonium. This fictional nuclear fuel requires yet another dedicated factory to produce and is much more radioactive than the other two. But it’s the end of the nuclear chain, because Ficsonium produces no waste. However, it is only one tenth as effective as Plutonium.
Conclusion: The Best Fuels in Satisfactory from Biomass to Nuclear
Progress is everything, and that’s clear from the various fuels available in Satisfactory. You start by burning simple Leaves and Wood, then progress through Coal and oil to nuclear power. That should keep your factory empire humming. While we definitely recommend Rocket Fuel for the late game, nuclear power can be a major challenge.
If you want to experience Satisfactory together with friends, rent one of our Satisfactory servers. You can try out different fuels together and see which one you like best in the end.
