United Airlines declared the addition of several new business partners to its SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) intensive investment fund, Sustainable Flight Fund, the United Airlines Ventures (UAV) bringing the capital dedicated to the fund to over $200 million.
The new associates include Aircastle, Safran Corporate Ventures, Embraer, Google, Air New Zealand, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, and Technip Energies.
Sustainable aviation fuel is seen as one of the significant tools to support decarbonizing the aviation industry, which presently accounts for 2-3 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) releases. Sustainable aviation fuel is commonly produced from sustainable resources, like waste material, oils, and agricultural residues. Sustainable aviation fuel producers estimate the fuels can lead in lifecycle global greenhouse gas emissions reductions of as much as 85% compared to conventional fuels.
Introduced in 2023, the fund invests in and supports startups focused on Sustainable aviation fuel research, technology, and production. The fund prioritizes investments in innovative technology, unconventional fuel sources, and proven producers, intended to support the scaling of Sustainable aviation fuel supply.
The new additions bring the overall number of associates in the fund to 22, together with corporations from across the aviation supply chain, oscillating from aircraft, airlines, engine manufacturers, and fuel manufacturers, to engineering and technology specialists, investors, and travel management providers.
Managing Director of United Airlines Ventures, Andrew Chang, stated that
Sustainable aviation fuel is the greatest tool that they have to decarbonize aircraft, but they don’t have sufficient of it. To create a sufficient amount of fuel supply, they require for their fleet, United recognized that they would have to assist in building a brand-new business from scratch – like wind and solar in earlier decades. As part of their effort to shape a new sustainable aviation ecology, they also recruited a group of associates with industry knowledge to support their startups with both pecuniary and strategic capital, to assist them navigate the whole process from conception to commercialization.”
United Airlines has dedicated to fully dropping greenhouse gas releases by 2050 without relying on carbon offsets, and the air company leads the business with investments in the upcoming production of more than 5 billion gallons of Sustainable aviation fuel.