United Airlines has agreed to purchase up to 1 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel from Houston-based Cemvita, which in April opened its first full-scale SAF plant that uses CO2 to manufacture the fuel.
The agreement calls for Cemvita to provide 50 million gallons a year over 20 years. United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen said he hopes the deal is just the beginning of the companies’ collaboration.
“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,” Leskinen said. “United is the global aviation leader in SAF production investment, but we face a real shortage of available fuel and producers.”
While commercialized SAF is now made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste, Cemvita’s technology uses engineered microbes that absorb and convert carbon dioxide into essential feedstocks. This “eCO2” has the potential to be carbon-negative and cost-competitive with existing crop-based feedstocks and fuels, the company said.
“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.”
In February, United Airlines partnered with Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell on a $100 million sustainable flight fund to invest in research and production to help achieve climate-friendly air travel. In July, United Airlines announced the addition of eight new corporate partners, increasing the fund to nearly $200 million.
