United adds new corporate partners to sustainable flight fund

These corporate partners make up all parts of the aviation supply chain – airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel producers, engineering and technology experts, financiers, travel management and more – and have now committed more than US$200 million while collaborating to provide strategic expertise to help the fund's portfolio companies reach commercialisation.

Since its inception in February 2023, the fund remains aviation's first and only venture fund backed by a broad limited partner base and created to identify and support startups advancing feedstock and technology development focused on increasing the supply of SAF.

The airline has included a way for everyday consumers to participate as well. Anyone using United.com or the United app has an option to contribute to supplement United's investment in the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund^SM before check-out. In less than 12 months, more than 115 000 people have contributed nearly US$500 000 since February 2023.

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 is the best tool we have to decarbonise airplanes, but we don't have enough of it. To create the fuel supply we need for our fleet, United recognised that we would have to help build a brand-new industry from scratch – like wind and solar in previous decades," said Andrew Chang, Managing Director of United Airlines Ventures. "As part of our effort to build a new sustainable aviation ecosystem, we recruited a group of partners with the industry expertise to support our startups with both financial and strategic capital, to help them navigate the entire process from conception to commercialisation."

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/14022024/united-adds-new-corporate-partners-to-sustainable-flight-fund/