by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:30 PM ET, Tue July 25, 2023
The United Airlines Ventures (UAV) Sustainable Flight Fund
announced it has increased its investment power to nearly $200 million and
added eight new corporate partners, just five months after its initial launch.
UAV officials revealed that American Express Global Business
Travel, Aramco Ventures, Aviation Capital Group, Bank of America, Boston
Consulting Group, Groupe ADP, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Ventures have joined
the Sustainable Flight Fund.
The new contributors join the inaugural fund partners Air
Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell. United passengers
can also contribute when booking flights, with over 60,000 customers
contributing over $200,000 so far.
“While United can't decarbonize the airline industry alone,
we can use our leadership and credibility in this space to rally others to join
us,” UAV President Michael Leskinen said. “Our new and inaugural participants
demonstrate the impressive commitment within aviation and beyond to reduce our
carbon footprint and combat the threat of climate change.”
“As companies across the globe are increasingly looking for
ways to reduce their environmental impact from flying, the UAV Sustainable
Flight Fund presents a unique opportunity,” Leskinen continued. “Instead of
fighting over the current limited supply of SAF, with our partners, we're
working collaboratively to help scale the SAF industry itself, and to get an
equity stake in groundbreaking technology while doing it.”
United will continue to recruit corporations to join the
fund and prioritize investment in new technology, advanced fuel sources and
proven producers as part of an effort to help scale the supply of SAF.
Last week, UAV announced an investment in Electric
Power Systems (EPS), a company producing compatible module technology that
can be applied to various batteries in aerospace applications.
The carrier could use the EPS technology for several near-term
applications and as part of its longer-term operations that support
decarbonization. The investment into electric battery technology is United’s
second overall after sodium-ion battery maker Natron.
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