{"id":6768,"date":"2025-02-12T16:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=6768"},"modified":"2025-05-12T17:38:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:38:10","slug":"sustainable-aviation-financier-skiesfifty-invests-in-us-waste-to-saf-venture-and-ocean-carbon-removals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=6768","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable aviation financier SkiesFifty invests in US waste-to-SAF venture and ocean carbon removals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sustainable aviation investment company SkiesFifty is to partner with Frontline BioEnergy to advance commercialisation of the latter\u2019s proprietary and patented gasification technology that converts biomass and waste into clean renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel. They will jointly own and invest in a new company that will focus on scaling up SAF production in sites across the US and potentially globally. SkiesFifty has also agreed to purchase 200,000 carbon credits over four years through a strategic investment in marine-based carbon removal company Gigablue, which is aiming to permanently remove a gigaton of carbon dioxide by 2035. Over the past year, SkiesFifty has also invested in sewage-to-SAF startup Firefly and teamed with Catalsys to develop green power solutions for aviation ground operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Under the US partnership, the new venture will deploy Frontline\u2019s gasification technology on its own projects as well as licensing it to others. In addition to SAF production, it also plans to produce green methanol as a transportation fuel for the maritime sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur proprietary technology creates clean, tar-free and particulate-free synthesis gas. It has huge potential for the generation of SAF. We have been looking for the right partner and investor to unlock this market for some time,\u201d said Jerod Smeenk, CEO of Frontline BioEnergy<\/a>. \u201cSkiesFifty will now enable us to enter into SAF production and commercialise it on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough transforming waste into clean energy, we are unlocking new possibilities for renewable fuel production and contributing to a more sustainable future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2024, SkiesFifty<\/a>, financial services and venture capital firm RAIN<\/a>, and Gigablue<\/a> announced a strategic partnership<\/a> that aimed to scale up Gigablue\u2019s ocean-based carbon removal system, increase awareness of the technology and manage distribution of the carbon credits it generates within the aviation and other hard-to-abate industries. The partners say the aviation industry is increasingly looking to carbon removal solutions because of the widening gap between the supply of SAF and industry demand. They quote IATA estimates that by 2050, removals alone will account for 20% of the aviation sector\u2019s abatement efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the partnership, Gigablue and SkiesFifty are working with the financiers at RAIN, which incubated SkiesFifty, to leverage RAIN\u2019s investing experience and relationships in the financial services and technology industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the support of SkiesFifty and RAIN, we can accelerate the adoption of Gigablue\u2019s environmentally safe and financially suitable carbon capture technology, ensuring impactful carbon removals for airlines striving to reach net zero,\u201d said Ori Shaashua, co-founder and Chief Business Officer, Gigablue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new agreement<\/a> for 200,000 credits over four years, said Shaashua, would be the largest marine carbon dioxide removal offtake agreement to date \u201cand proves our technology\u2019s viability in the market.\u201d He said more offtake agreements would be announced shortly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company says its technology offers a low-cost route to sequestering carbon, relying on marine carbon fixation and sequestration (MCFS). At the heart of the solution is a novel substrate consisting of a contained nutrient shell and a gravity-controlling core that acts as an optimal environment for local phytoplankton to grow and thrive. Once the phytoplankton multiply and reach a sufficient amount, a controlled sinking trigger activates and the substrate, together with the attached carbon, sinks to the bottom of the ocean for permanent storage \u2013 over a thousand years, claims the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsing nothing more than sunlight, water and gravity, Gigablue can safely and efficiently store carbon dioxide at a gigaton scale,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its proprietary oceanographic platform integrates hundreds of geoinformation data points using artificial intelligence to identify optimal deployment zones and predict the most effective substrate particle compositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gigablue\u2019s MMRV (measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification) framework has been reviewed by New Zealand\u2019s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to ensure reliable and measurable carbon sequestration, while supporting marine ecosystems, said the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt SkiesFifty, we invest in the technologies that will make a difference to a carbon-neutral future for aviation,\u201d said Simon Talling-Smith, founding partner at SkiesFifty. \u201cWe are constantly evaluating projects and we were deeply impressed by Gigablue\u2019s ocean-based CDR solution. It stood out due to its combination of environmental safety, durability, scalability and robust scientific measurement. We believe CDR will be an important part of the portfolio of solutions that will lead us to net zero for aviation by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Gigablue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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