New investment fund launched to advance, commercialize SAF technologies

The oneworld alliance and member airlines, in partnership with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, announced Sept. 17 the launch of a new investment fund designed to address the limited availability and high cost of today’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The fund, led by cornerstone investors Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, seeks to accelerate the global development of long-term aviation fuel solutions that are cost effective, scalable and have lower emissions than conventional fuels.

The oneworld BEV Fund will:

• Invest in novel, next-generation SAF technologies.

• Support the growth of alternative-fuel markets to meet the long-term needs of the global aviation industry.

• Create economic value for investors and regions around the world.

• Drive technology innovation.

• Develop a diverse and resilient SAF supply chain to meet future demand.

“By investing in the SAF technologies of the future, American and our oneworld partners are making a business decision to accelerate the development of novel technologies with the potential to reach larger scale at lower prices than current technologies can achieve,” said Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines and chairman of oneworld. “We believe reducing the emissions from our operation meets the demands of our customers, will make our business more competitive and will enable us to continue to deliver the enormous economic benefits of commercial aviation for generations to come.”

Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Air Group, said, “Alaska Airlines is excited to work alongside oneworld carriers to invest in innovative and cost-competitive SAF technology to drive the long-term energy transformation for our industry. In Breakthrough Energy Ventures, we have a partner with the scientific, technical and commercial expertise to make effective investment decisions that will create the market for next-generation fuels and power our industry in the years ahead.”

Nat Pieper, CEO of oneworld, added, “Investing in SAF with Breakthrough Energy Ventures is part of oneworld’s strategy to create a future of aviation that solves problems at scale and serves the needs of the greater aviation community. At oneworld, our member airlines are united in their long-term mission to address carbon emissions and invest in technologies that can improve speed to market of innovative fuels across the globe. By working together, we’ll be better positioned to create long-term solutions for the energy transformation of an industry that is vital to global economic growth.”

BEV, Breakthrough Energy Venture’s capital fund founded by Bill Gates, will serve as the fund’s investment manager, bringing deep technical expertise, a rigorous diligence model and extensive experience supporting the growth of early-stage climate-technology companies.

By leveraging its resources to support the energy transformation of one of the most challenging sectors for climate mitigation, BEV aims to advance fuel technologies that offer the greatest potential for tackling the sector’s emissions and securing long-term commercial success.

“SAF is essential to addressing the sector’s environmental impact and represents a major commercial opportunity,” said Eric Toone, chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy and managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “The oneworld BEV Fund is built to identify and scale breakthrough SAF technologies that can deliver real emissions reductions for jet fuel, compete with fossil-based fuels on cost and integrate seamlessly with today’s aviation infrastructure. These are complex systems-level challenges that will take time to solve, and the fund is built with the long-term vision and staying power to help bring solutions to market.”

The fund is also supported by oneworld alliance member airlines International Airlines Group, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

Recognizing the power of collective action, oneworld and Breakthrough Energy Ventures made an early decision to welcome nonalliance investors, including Singapore Airlines, which shares the alliance’s commitment to accelerating industry-wide progress in SAF.

The global aviation industry, which generates some $4.1 trillion in economic activity and supports 86.5 million jobs, currently accounts for approximately 2 percent to 3 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions, in addition to other environmental impacts.

Airlines and manufacturers continue to invest in modern aircraft, engines and operational efficiencies.

Demand for air travel is expected to rise in the coming decades, and SAF, which today can reduce lifecycle emissions of jet fuel by up to 80 percent compared to conventional jet fuel, is a crucial tool for mitigating the industry’s environmental impact. 

“While SAF can significantly decrease the carbon-dioxide emissions from aircraft engines, the first-generation SAF in production today has come with challenges,” oneworld alliance stated. “The SAF industry has not yet attracted the investment required to scale production at competitive prices in line with market needs, and lifecycle environmental impact is a concern. oneworld and its partners are focused on supporting new technologies that can scale the availability of cost-competitive SAF while minimizing other environmental impacts.”