MAKO flies high with shark-skin inspired technology
Flightfilm reduces aviation and shipping drag to cut emissions
Australian advanced manufacturing company MAKO is bringing an innovative solution to aviation emissions – a lightweight film product that can be applied to the surface of aircraft, reducing drag, improving fuel efficiency and cutting emissions.
$10.5m
Total CEFC investment
950m tCO2-e
Global aviation emissions
4%
efficiency gain
The mako shark is the fastest shark in the world, and MAKO is our vision to make every plane reach the apex of efficiency… Flightfilm was designed to be deployed on the aircraft already flying, and MAKO will scale that impact globally.Henry BilinskyMicroTau CEO and founder
Our investment
The CEFC has invested a total of $10.5 million in Sydney-based advanced manufacturing company MAKO to support shark skin-inspired technology that can help minimise fuel costs and emissions in aviation.
Specialist climate tech venture capital manager Virescent Ventures manages the MAKO investment on behalf of the CEFC. The CEFC first invested $2 million in MAKO in 2022 when the company was known as MicroTau. MAKO rebranded itself and its flagship product Flightfilm™ in March 2026. The CEFC contributed $5 million to a CEFC and Virescent Ventures Fund II led Series A funding round in 2026. Other investors in that round included TreeArc (formerly Wollemi Capital Group), IP Group, Grok, Skip Capital, Zero Infinity Partners, and International Airlines Group, one of the largest airline groups in the world.
The Flightfilm drag-reducing surface is precision-engineered for each aircraft type and applied to an aircraft’s exterior to improve aerodynamic efficiency and cut fuel burn without requiring structural modifications. Mako equates the efficiency gain provided by Flightfilm with a new engine upgrade, however, Flightfilm is installed with no additional aircraft downtime.
Testing has demonstrated immediate efficiency gains of four per cent. While fuel burn savings can appear moderate on a per flight basis, numbers scale rapidly when aircraft utilisation and fleet size are taken into account.1
our impact
Aviation industry pledges net zero
By 2050 demand for flying could increase aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 300 per cent over 2005 levels if no drastic measures are taken to reduce them, according to the European Commission. However, the global aviation industry has agreed target achieving net zero emissions in that timeframe.2
Global Aviation emissions are estimated at 950 million tCO2-e based on International Air Transport Association data.
The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation has identified ramping up innovative aircraft technologies, streamlining flight operations and the increased production and use of sustainable aviation fuels as agreed measures to reduce CO2 emissions.3
Targeting commercial airline customers
MAKO is initially pursuing Flightfilm certification on the Airbus A320, the most prolific commercial aircraft type flown globally. Facility certifications that will enable MAKO to manufacture and deliver Flightfilm to commercial airline customers in Australia and around the world will also be undertaken.
The company was founded in 2016 after Founder and CEO Henry Bilinsky was awarded a US Air Force contract to develop his Flightfilm fabrication technology as a fuel efficiency solution for the Air Force’s large transport aircraft.
MAKO has worked closely with the United States Department of Defense to conduct flight testing of its product on a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules operated by US Air Force Special Operations Command, which demonstrated a net efficiency gain of four per cent. MAKO is also working with Delta Air Lines to test and develop Flightfilm for Delta’s fleet of passenger aircraft.4
2 World Economic Forum: The aviation sector wants to reach net zero by 2050. How will it do it?3 World Economic Forum: The aviation sector wants to reach net zero by 2050. How will it do it?
4 Mako media release: Delta partners with Mako to test Flightfilm on Delta 767s, April 2025
