Celebrate United Airlines’ First Passenger Flight Using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel

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December 01, 2021

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(U.S. Department of Energy) The first United Airlines passenger flight to fly using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will depart today from Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 1 p.m. ET and will arrive at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 4 p.m. ET. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) research helped to develop the biofuel technology that will help this flight and future flights take a monumental step in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions within the aviation industry.

SAF development is a priority for DOE’s BETO, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Together, these agencies have developed a comprehensive strategy for scaling up new technologies to produce SAFs on a commercial scale through the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, with the ultimate goal of supplying sufficient SAF to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand by 2050. As part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, several private sector aviation companies committed to take action to significantly reduce emissions from airplanes.

The U.S. continues to lead in biofuel production, a nascent industry that has created 68,000 jobs, produced 17 billion gallons of fuel, and saved 544 million metric tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. Expanding domestic SAF production can help sustain the benefits of the U.S. biofuel industry and forge new economic benefits, while also creating and securing new skilled employment opportunities across the country. READ MORE

United to Become First in Aviation History to Fly Aircraft Full of Passengers Using 100% Sustainable Fuel (United Airlines/PR Newswire)

The first passenger flight powered by 100% sustainable fuel just took off (Fast Company)

'Significant milestone': United Airlines flies passenger aircraft using 100 per cent biofuel engine (Business Green)

Daybreak Dec. 2: United lands SAF flight, but will biofuel take off? (Agri-Pulse)

‘Sustainable aviation fuel’ is here, but still has miles to go: United Airlines flew a plane on pure sustainable aviation fuel, but high costs and low supply are still problems. (Grist)

First study on in-flight use of pure SAF in a passenger jet shows early promise (Biofuels Digest)

Virent and Johnson Matthew technology enables SAF flight (Biofuels International)

From the Lab to the Sky: Five Things to Know about Biofuel-Powered Flights (U.S. Department of Energy)

Excerpt from United Airlines/PR Newswire: Game-changing flight - in partnership with Boeing, CFM International, Virent and World Energy - set to travel today from ORD to DCA with more than 100 passengers;

Airline also announces new corporate participants joining the Eco-Skies Alliance, an effort to collectively purchase 7.1 million gallons of SAF this year including Microsoft, Salesforce and Visa

United has already committed to purchasing nearly twice the size of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced SAF commitments combined

United today will operate an unprecedented flight that will serve as a turning point in the industry's effort to combat climate change: for the first time in aviation history, a commercial carrier will fly an aircraft full of passengers using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Also today, United announced the second round of corporate participants in the airline's Eco-Skies Alliance^SM program to collectively contribute towards the purchase of SAF.

United is the world leader in the usage and support for the development of SAF, an alternative fuel made with non-petroleum feedstocks, already having agreements to purchase nearly twice as much SAF as the known agreements of all other global airlines combined. SAF has the potential to deliver the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel but with a fraction of its carbon footprint, and according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the country's vast feedstock resources are enough to meet the projected fuel demand of the entire U.S. aviation industry.

"United continues to lead from the front when it comes to climate change action," said United CEO Scott Kirby, who will fly onboard today's historic SAF flight. "Today's SAF flight is not only a significant milestone for efforts to decarbonize our industry, but when combined with the surge in commitments to produce and purchase alternative fuels, we're demonstrating the scalable and impactful way companies can join together and play a role in addressing the biggest challenge of our lifetimes."

The demonstration flight – which will depart today with more than 100 passengers from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and land at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport – will be on a new United 737 MAX 8 and use 500 gallons of SAF in one engine and the same amount of conventional jet fuel in the other engine to further prove there are no operational differences between the two and to set the stage for more scalable uses of SAF by all airlines in the future. Currently, airlines are only permitted to use a maximum of 50% SAF on board. The SAF used on today's flight is drop-in ready and compatible with existing aircraft fleets.

United is operating this unprecedented flight in partnership with Boeing, CFM International*, Virent – a subsidiary of Marathon – whose technology enables 100% drop-in SAF, and World Energy – the world's first and North America's only commercial SAF producer. United's Kirby will be joined by executives from each of those companies on today's flight along with other business leaders, government officials, NGOs and members of the media.

"Boeing is proud to support United on this historic event as we work together to make aviation more sustainable," said Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Boeing Company. "As an industry, we are committed to addressing climate change, and sustainable aviation fuels are the most measurable solution to reduce aviation carbon emissions in the coming decades. No one entity can decarbonize aviation alone and it will require partnerships like this to ensure aviation is safe and sustainable for future generations."

"We are honored to be part of this landmark event," said Gaël Méheust, president & CEO of CFM International. "Drop-in SAF is something our industry can adopt now to begin making inroads on our commitment to be net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Along with our parent companies, GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines, we applaud United for taking this bold initiative and look forward to even greater cooperation in the future."

"We're excited to partner with this group of innovative companies that are leading the way in sustainable aviation," said Dave Kettner, president and general counsel of Virent. "Virent's proprietary technology demonstrates that SAF can be 100% renewable and 100% compatible with our current aviation fleet and infrastructure. We are proud to be playing a role in this advancement toward sustainable aviation fuels."

"When we fly, we connect, and our demand for the connections aviation makes possible are only going to grow," said Gene Gebolys, CEO of World Energy. "But we need to develop affordable, high energy density, low-carbon liquid fuels at scale everywhere to allow those connections to be made sustainably. The pioneering work is the hardest work, and United has been with us from the very start. The flight path ahead will require tremendous teamwork. We are fortunate to have partners like United to do that work and are thrilled to be a part of this important milestone today."

United's Eco-Skies Alliance program was launched in April 2021 and now has collectively contributed toward the purchase of more than 7 million gallons of SAF this year alone. With its nearly 80% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions on a lifecycle basis compared to conventional jet fuel, this is enough SAF to eliminate approximately 66,000 metric tons of GHG emissions, or enough to fly passengers more than 460 million miles. Including today's newly announced participants, the program has nearly 30 participants including companies like DHL Global Forwarding, HP Inc. and Nike.

The new participants include:

American Family Insurance
Biogen
Bolloré Logistics
CWT
Maersk
Meta
Microsoft
Palo Alto Networks
Salesforce
Visa
Yusen Logistics
Zurich North America

Today's SAF flight and new Eco-Skies Alliance participants are among the latest accomplishments towards United's goal to be 100% green by reducing its GHG emissions 100% by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In a further step to build transparency and enable certified SAF emissions reductions for its corporate customers, last month United partnered with Microsoft, Air bp, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Aviation Biomaterials in the first ever book-and-claim pilot.

United's 100% green commitment

Here are some of the ways United plans to make sustainability the new standard in flight:

United recently agreed to purchase 1.5 billion gallons of SAF from Alder Fuels - enough to fly more than 57 million passengers and is also an investor in Fulcrum BioEnergy, where United has an option to purchase up to 900 million gallons of additional SAF.
In July 2021, United Aviate Ventures (UAV) announced that along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Mesa Airlines, it has invested in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace. Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft that has the potential to fly customers with zero emissions when powered by renewable electricity.
In July 2021, Air Transport World magazine named United its Eco-Airline of the Year for the third time.
In June 2021, as part of its agreement with Boom Supersonic, United announced plans to purchase 15 of Boom's "Overture" airliners (with an option for 35 more). Slated to carry passengers in 2029, the net-zero aircraft plans to fly on 100% SAF.
In February 2021, United announced an agreement to work with Archer Aviation to accelerate the development and production of their electric aircraft – an urban mobility solution that has the potential to serve as an 'air taxi,' giving United customers another opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint before they even board a United flight.
In 2020, United became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest in direct air capture, a carbon capture and sequestration technology. United remains committed to investing in carbon capture and sequestration as a key pathway to achieving its climate goals.
In 2020, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) named United as the only airline globally to its 2020 Climate 'A List' for the airline's actions to cut GHG emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy, marking the seventh consecutive year that United had the highest CDP score among U.S. airlines.
In 2019, United operated the Flight for the Planet, which represented the most-eco-friendly commercial flight of its kind in the history of commercial aviation.
In 2018, United became the first U.S. airline to commit to reducing its GHG emissions, by 50% by 2050. This goal has since been superseded by the airline's 100% green commitment.
In 2016, United became the first airline globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis with SAF from World Energy. READ MORE

Excerpt from Business Green: The SAF used in the aircraft engine was made up of around 80 per cent 'hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids' (HEFA) fuel, and 20 per cent 'Synthesised Aromatic Kerosene' (SAK) made from plant-based feedstocks, the airline told BusinessGreen. READ MORE

Excerpt from Biofuels International: The BioForming process, invented by Virent, a renewable fuels and chemicals technology company, that was further advanced for commercial deployment with Johnson Matthey, a global leader in sustainable technologies, was a key step in enabling the 100% drop-in SAF production.

...

The BioForming technology converts sugar feedstocks into a product known as BioFormate via a catalytic process.
BioFormate can then be used to create biofuels, including BioForm synthesised aromatic kerosene (SAK), which can be blended with renewable paraffinic kerosene to produce the 100% drop-in SAF.

Johnson Matthey and Virent have partnered since August 2016 to further develop and commercialise the BioForming technology and offer it for licence to third parties.

The event culminated with a reception hosted by United Airlines at Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport to mark this milestone event. Representatives from Johnson Matthey and Virent attended to mark the historic occasion. READ MORE