United Signs Agreement to Buy up to One Billion Gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Cemvita

(Cemvita/Business Wire) Cemvita designs synthetic microbes that have the potential to convert CO2 into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) -- Cemvita Corporation announced an offtake arrangement with United Airlines for up to 1 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Cemvita’s first full-scale SAF plant. Under the agreement, signed by Cemvita and United Airlines, Cemvita will supply United Airlines up to 50 million gallons annually for 20 years of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from CO2.

“Since our initial investment last year, Cemvita has made outstanding progress, including opening their new pilot plant – an important step towards producing sustainable aviation fuel,” said United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen. “United is the global aviation leader in SAF production investment, but we face a real shortage of available fuel and producers. Cemvita’s technology represents a path forward for a potentially significant supply of SAF and it’s our hope that this offtake agreement for up to one billion gallons is just the beginning of our collaboration.”

Game Changing Technologies: Commercialized SAF is currently made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste. Cemvita's technology has the potential to provide more reliable feedstock production with minimal land, water, and electricity needs. Furthermore, the output of eCO2 plants has the potential to be carbon-negative and Cemvita is aiming to be cost competitive with existing crop based HEFA feedstocks and fuels, which is a crucial factor for the successful adoption of any new biomanufacturing process.

“Biology is capable of truly amazing things,” said Moji Karimi, CEO of Cemvita. “Our team of passionate, pioneering, and persistent scientists and engineers are on a mission to create sustainable BioSolutions that redefine possibilities.”

“We are thrilled to partner with United Airlines in working towards transforming the aviation industry and accelerating the energy transition,” Moji continued. “This agreement featuring our unique SAF platform is a major milestone towards demonstrating our journey to full commercialization.”

United has aggressively pursued strategic investments in SAF producers and revolutionary technologies, including carbon capture, hydrogen-electric engines, electric regional aircraft, and air taxis. This year, United launched its UAV Sustainable Flight FundSM, a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle that is designed to leverage support from cross-industry businesses to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel through SAF research, technology, and production. Cemvita was announced as part of the fund’s inaugural group of portfolio companies. United has invested in more SAF production than any other airline globally.1

United was the first airline to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In addition to the UAV Sustainable Flight FundSM, 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.

At United, Good Leads The Way. With 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 and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by available seat miles. 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".

Cemvita is on a mission to create the natural resource industry of the future. Our solutions address sustainable natural extraction of natural resources, carbon negative chemical production, and the closed-loop renewal of waste as feedstock. With Cemvita, the sustainable choice is also the economical choice. Whether it’s metal and mineral extraction or the production of hydrogen and biofuels, Cemvita partners with the world's largest companies to accelerate the energy transition.

The Cemvita platform is flexible and designed to produce reliable results in harsh operating environments. The microbes we engineer at Cemvita can fully decarbonize the most intensive industrial processes and massively shrink their overall environmental footprint. Our field-tested biotechnologies can be seamlessly integrated into existing workflows and infrastructure.

Cemvita was founded in 2017 and is proudly based in the energy capital of the world—Houston, TX. For more information, please visit www.cemvita.com. READ MORE