By Geoff Percival,Stephen Aherne
Copyright ittn
The oneworld Alliance and member airlines – in partnership with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) – has launched a new investment fund designed to address the limited availability and high cost of today’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
The fund, led by cornerstone investors American Airlines and Alaska Airlines (along with members IAG, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific) 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 initial $150m oneworld BEV Fund aims to identify, enable and scale lower carbon jet fuel of the future to support consumer demand, economic development, jobs and technology innovation
The oneworld® BEV Fund will:
Invest in novel, next-generation Sustainable Aviation Fuel 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, American Airlines CEO 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.”
“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,” said Ben Minicucci, chief executive of Alaska Air Group. “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.”
“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,” said Nat Pieper, chief executive officer of oneworld. “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.
“Sustainable Aviation Fuel 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.”
