{"id":5438,"date":"2024-02-29T10:02:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T10:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5438"},"modified":"2024-07-11T09:12:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T08:12:48","slug":"southwest-airlines-launches-sustainability-investment-platform-and-takes-stake-in-lanzajet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5438","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Airlines launches sustainability investment platform and takes stake in LanzaJet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Southwest Airlines, the world\u2019s fourth-largest carrier, has launched Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures<\/a> (SARV), a dedicated platform to invest in sustainable aviation fuel technologies. The Texas-based airline has also announced a $30 million stake in US-based SAF producer LanzaJet, with which it will collaborate to develop a new SAF production plant, largely to support Southwest\u2019s needs. The two companies will work with SAFFiRE Renewables (Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Renewable Ethanol), a technology company in which Southwest has already invested, that converts corn stover to ethanol. LanzaJet has patented an alcohol-to-jet process, through which such feedstocks are converted to ethanol, then SAF, and recently opened the world\u2019s first commercial-scale refinery for this process, Freedom Pine Fuels, in Soperton, Georgia. The proposed new facility with Southwest will also use LanzaJet\u2019s technology to convert SAFFiRE\u2019s cellulosic ethanol into SAF for the airline.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like many carriers, Southwest has committed that by 2030, 10% of the jet fuel it uses will be SAF. But the scale of the airline\u2019s fuel requirement is far bigger than most, with a fleet of almost 850 Boeing 737s serving 121 destinations in the US and 10 other countries, and almost 500 new B737 MAX family jets on order to replace older aircraft and further expand operations. In its February 2024 global assessment of airline performance, aviation data group OAG ranked Southwest \u2013 the largest low-cost carrier \u2013 the fourth busiest operator by flight frequencies, behind American, Delta and United.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur launch of SARV and our investment in LanzaJet demonstrate that we are not sitting on the sidelines,\u201d said Southwest CEO Bob Jordan. \u201cRather, we\u2019re in the game by taking proactive, disciplined steps toward securing affordable SAF for Southwest as we continue to march toward our goal of net zero 2050. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe look forward to working with LanzaJet<\/a>, which is developing potentially important technology that could create more opportunities for Southwest to obtain scalable SAF, a critical component in the success of our environmental sustainability goal to replace 10% of our jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LanzaJet and SAFFiRE Renewables<\/a> stakes will be aligned by Southwest through SARV, which will collectively manage the airline\u2019s SAF investments, while the core airline will continue to work with multiple SAF producers to procure more of the fuels.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSARV\u2019s goal is to help scale SAF through strategic investments, better positioning Southwest to have access to high quality, affordable SAF in accordance with the robust standards of Southwest\u2019s SAF policy,\u201d added Tom Nealon, who is both SARV\u2019s President and SAFFiRE\u2019s CEO. \u201cThrough SARV\u2019s investment in LanzaJet, we\u2019re also entering the next phase in the commercialisation of SAFFiRE technology, which is designed to support the production of cellulosic ethanol that can be converted to SAF.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet, said his company\u2019s ethanol-to-SAF technology \u201crepresents the next generation of sustainable aviation fuel and will transform aviation\u2019s ability to meet its 2050 net zero targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to be working with Southwest Airlines to build out this industry as well as working with SAFFiRE Renewables to use ethanol made right here in the US,\u201d he added. \u201cSouthwest\u2019s equity investment in LanzaJet will help us continue to grow and scale to meet the demands of the aviation industry, while unlocking the significant potential of the US biofuels industry to benefit local communities and support the agriculture industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development of the new SAF plant in the US will be led by LanzaJet, which will also support Southwest\u2019s aims to commercialise the SAFFiRE corn-to-ethanol technology. The airline will be \u201cthe anchor SAF offtaker\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe US is an incredibly important market for us,\u201d said Samartzis. \u201cIt\u2019s our home, where our technology is originated and scaled, the site of our and the world\u2019s first commercial ethanol-to-SAF plant, and an important opportunity to support the existing US biofuels and ethanol industries with our leading ethanol-to-SAF technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe alignment of Southwest and LanzaJet is a powerful combination that has the potential to integrate the SAF value chain and to double down on the US ethanol, aviation and biofuel industries. Our work together will lead us closer to meeting aviation\u2019s decarbonisation goals by continuing to scale SAF production in the United States, while also tapping into the US ethanol industry\u2019s potential to catalyse the next generation of SAF production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAFFiRE has been collaborating with the US Department of Energy\u2019s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and holds both a licensing agreement and some exclusivity rights to technology to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn stover. Southwest Airlines has matched a grant from the Department to create SAF via the alcohol-to-jet process, through which sugars in the feedstock are fermented to ethanol, which is then deoxygenated to create low carbon fuel. SAFFiRE has previously said it can produce 7.5 billion gallons (27 billion litres) of SAF per year by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southwest\u2019s stake in LanzaJet closely follows the energy company\u2019s activation of the Freedom Pines Fuels plant, which is targeting production of renewable fuels including up to 1 billion gallons of SAF by 2030. LanzaJet is also progressing other developments including plans for an alcohol-to-jet plant in Australia with partners including JetZero, Qantas, Airbus and the Queensland state government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Southwest, LanzaJet\u2019s investors include British Airways and Japan\u2019s All Nippon Airways, LanzaTech, Shell, Mitsui & Co, Suncor Energy, plus sustainability investors Breakthrough Energy and Microsoft\u2019s Climate Innovation Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo (Ashlee D. Smith): Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX-8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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