United Rallies Businesses and Consumers with New, First-of-its-Kind $100+ Million Sustainable Flight Fund
(United Airlines/PR Newswire) Investment vehicle supports start-ups focused on the reduction of carbon emissions in aviation through sustainable aviation fuel research, technology and production; Fund starts with more than $100 million investment from United and its inaugural corporate partners like JPMorgan Chase, GE Aerospace, Honeywell, and Air Canada; Customers can now see an estimate of each flight’s carbon footprint in their search on United’s website and app and can also contribute to supplement United’s investment in the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund when buying a ticket – first 10,000 people to add to the fund receive MileagePlus® miles as a thank-you; United has already invested in the future production of three billion gallons of SAF – the most of any airline in the world*
In an effort to rally businesses and consumers, United today launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund SM, a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel by accelerating the research, production and technologies associated with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The fund starts with more than $100 million in investments from United and its inaugural partners** Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase, and Honeywell. Through the fund, these and potentially additional corporate participants will invest alongside United in SAF technology and production start-ups identified by United. In the past two years alone, United Airlines Ventures has invested in start-ups such as Cemvita, Dimensional Energy, and NEXT Renewable Fuels.
And in a first among U.S. airlines, anyone who buys a ticket on the United website or app now has the option to contribute to supplement United’s investment in the fund. The first 10,000 people who choose to contribute will each receive 500 MileagePlus Miles as a thank-you.
SAF is an alternative to conventional jet fuel that, on a lifecycle basis, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with air travel compared to conventional jet fuel alone. SAF, which currently must be blended with conventional jet fuel to meet regulatory requirements for use within the aircraft, is being made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste, and, in the future, could be made from other feedstocks including household trash or forest waste. To date, United has invested in the future production of over three billion gallons of SAF – the most of any airline in the world.***
“Solving climate change is doable but it requires hard work and real leadership,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “This fund is unique. It’s not about offsets or things that are just greenwashing. Instead, we’re creating a system that drives investment to build a new industry around sustainable aviation fuel, essentially from scratch. That’s the only way we can actually decarbonize aviation.”
UAV Sustainable Flight Fund
The UAV Sustainable Flight Fund is open to investment by corporations across industries and the fund will prioritize investment in new technology, advanced fuel sources and proven producers, all in an effort to scale the supply of SAF. Partners of the fund also have the potential to gain preferential access to environmental attributes associated with United’s supply of SAF.
Companies interested in joining the fund can visit united.com/ventures.
United has already made investments in or signed purchase agreements with companies using a variety of ingredients and technologies to produce SAF, including feedstocks like ethanol, animal byproducts, forestry and crop waste, and municipal waste, as well as early-stage, promising technologies like synthetic biology and power to liquids. United Airlines Ventures will move selected existing SAF investments to establish the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund portfolio.
Consumer Awareness and Call to Action
United is also educating consumers about their air travel carbon footprint and giving them the option to take action.
Starting today on United.com and the United app, United becomes the first U.S. airline to show customers an estimate of each flight’s carbon footprint in their search. Green shading will indicate a lower-carbon option on a per economy seat passenger basis in a customer’s chosen itinerary. A flight’s carbon footprint is measured in kg CO2e (kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent) and United’s estimates, which could differ from actual flight emissions, are based on aircraft type, flying time, seat capacity and the number of people and cargo on a given flight.
And consumers who book travel through United for travel within or from the U.S. will now see an option to contribute to supplement United’s investment in the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund before check-out. Customers have the choice to contribute $1, $3.50 or $7.00.****
The default option for customer contributions is set at $3.50 to illustrate the potential impact of customer action at scale: if the 152 million people who flew on United in 2022 each contributed just $3.50 to the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, that would be enough to design and build a SAF refinery capable of producing as much as 40 million gallons of alternative fuel annually.*****
The Federal Government Recognizes the Value of SAF
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act includes the largest governmental climate change investments in U.S. history – a new blender’s tax credit specifically for SAF along with other critical incentives for clean energy and carbon capture – that will help spur an increase in SAF infrastructure and supply while lowering costs for SAF consumers.
The U.S. military currently uses nearly five billion gallons of jet fuel annually and the Department of Defense will use a jet fuel blend containing at least 10% SAF by 2028 because of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
And according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the country’s vast feedstock resources are enough to meet the projected SAF demand of the entire U.S. aviation industry.
United’s Commitment to Net Zero Emissions by 2050
United aims to be 100% green by reducing its GHG emissions 100% by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In addition to the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, United has launched a SAF purchasing program called the Eco-Skies Alliance and established a venture fund – United Airlines Ventures – to identify and invest in companies and technologies that can decarbonize air travel. These strategic investments include carbon capture, hydrogen-electric engines, electric regional aircraft and air taxis.
About United
United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” From our U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers. United is bringing back our customers’ favorite destinations and adding new ones on its way to becoming the world’s best airline. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”. For further information about our environmental impact, review United’s Corporate Responsibility Report and Annual Report on Form 10-K, available at crreport.united.com and ir.united.com.
MileagePlus Footnote Regarding Miles Awarded for Customer Contributions
Must be a MileagePlus member to receive miles. MileagePlus membership is free. READ MORE
A Sudden Rush to Make Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mainstream (New York Times)
A sudden rush to make sustainable aviation fuel mainstream (New York Times/Spokesman Review)
Why airlines want to charge you for flying on french-fry oil (Washington Post)
United Airlines announces new investments to move the needle on decarbonizing aviation (USA Today)
Excerpt from New York Times: Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive, said in an interview that he wanted his airline to be a leader in sustainable fuels. His reasons, he said, are twofold: He believes that’s where the industry is headed, and he’s eager to play a role in reducing global emissions as the planet rapidly warms.
“I am genuinely a nerd about climate change,” he said. “The implications are so dramatic, and there are all these tipping points that once you hit them they’re effectively irreversible.”
Making sustainable aviation fuel mainstream will be difficult and costly to achieve. Sustainable aviation fuels “are currently at various stages of technology readiness, and the scaling of production and deployment faces major technological and economic hurdles,” according to a recent report by the Rhodium Group, an energy sector consulting group.
Only two companies make sustainable aviation fuel that is used by the major airlines at scale. World Energy, a U.S. company, has a plant in Los Angeles where it supplies United and other airlines and is building a new factory in Houston. Neste, a Finnish oil company, produces sustainable jet fuel in Europe.
Others companies are racing to catch up. LanzaTech, based in Chicago, went public this month on the Nasdaq and is valued at nearly $1 billion. The company is building a factory in Georgia where it plans to produce sustainable fuel using ethanol.
Gevo, a startup based in Denver that is also making sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol, broke ground last year on a plant in South Dakota.
“I’ve been doing renewables for 25 years, and I’m one of the more cynical people in the space,” said Patrick Gruber, the chief executive of Gevo. “But I think there’s been a shift in the last few years. Airlines believe they are going to be held accountable, and their customers are saying they have to change.”
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“Carbon offsets have been a bone of contention for me because they’re almost all fraudulent,” Kirby said. READ MORE
