Aircastle, Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies are now among the 22 corporate partners that make up the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight FundSM, an effort to reduce emissions and drive production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through investments in startups.
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 $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.
“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.”
First published by FINN: www.wearefinn.com
Feb 16, 2024 – 10:31 am
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