United Airlines has today announced the first investment of their recently announced UAV Sustainable Flight Fund™, with a $5 million investment id algae-based fuel producer Viridos.
On Monday (March 13, 2023), United Airlines announced a $5 million investment in algae-based fuel supplier Viridos. This is the first investment by their recently announced UAV Sustainable Flight Fund™ and will support the production of SAF made from algae, an abundant, scalable and sustainable resource which can be grown and harvested without impacting the food supply chain. Viridos specializes in the bioengineering of microalgae, and their proprietary technology accelerates the amount of oil that can be produced from microalgae, which could then be used to scale future SAF production. Based on current estimates, SAF created by Viridos’ algae oil is expected to reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint by 70 percent compared to conventional jet fuel.
In Monday’s announcement, United Airlines Ventures’ President, Mike Leskinen, said,
“SAF is proven, scalable, and the best tool we have to reduce our carbon emissions from flying, but we face a significant shortage of available feedstock. As the global aviation leader in SAF production investment United remains committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions, without relying on traditional carbon offsets, by 2050. Viridos’ algae-based biofuel technology has the potential to help solve our supply problem without the need for farmland or other agricultural resources and marks our inaugural investment in our new cross-industry UAV Sustainable Flight Fund.”
Also commenting on United’s investment, Viridos’ Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Fetzer, added,
“By establishing production sites to grow Viridos-engineered microalgae in saltwater, we are creating the foundation for a biofuel future that moves away from fossil fuels without competing for precious resources such as fresh water and arable land. We are excited to have the support from United Airlines. Together we can build the ecosystem needed to bring algae biofuels to the market.”
United Airlines’ shared purpose is ‘Connecting People. Uniting the World.’ The carrier operates the most comprehensive network among North American airlines with mainland U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Shares in the company’s parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., are publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘UAL.’
Source: United Airlines/PRNewswire
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