United Airlines Invests In Twelve For SAF Innovation

United Airlines has moved in a bold direction toward the promotion of sustainable aviation by making an investment in Twelve, a cleantech business dedicated to converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The action falls in line with United's wider approach to realizing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 without resorting to conventional carbon offsets. The investment came through the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, launched in 2023 to invest in startups that are building new SAF technologies and scaling up production.

Twelve, headquartered in California and founded in 2015, has created a novel process for transforming carbon that employs renewable power to transform captured CO2 and water into fuel, chemicals, and materials. Its SAF, the E-Jet, has the ability to cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% from traditional jet fuel. Not only does the innovation benefit decarbonization, but it also generates water and oxygen as byproducts, supporting a more circular and sustainable energy system.

The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund has become a strong platform with more than $200 million in committed investments. Key stakeholders are some of the world's top organizations, including Embraer, GE Aerospace, Google, and other large airlines, all collaborating to solve one of the biggest challenges facing the aviation sector—increasing the production and reducing the cost of SAF. Andrew Chang, who is the executive leading United Airlines Ventures, reiterated that expanding the SAF sector is vital to the future of air transportation and that companies like Twelve are vital to achieving that. He cited Twelve's capacity to raise capital and secure SAF supply contracts as signals that they are prepared to commercialize and scale up rapidly.

Twelve's new collaboration with United follows the company's recent $83 million Series C funding round and project financing for its maiden SAF production facility, AirPlant One. Based in Moses Lake, Washington, AirPlant One will start production this year and produce 50,000 gallons of drop-in SAF to start. The plant is a significant development as Twelve goes from laboratory innovation to industrial implementation.

Nicholas Flanders, Twelve's co-founder and CEO, had the investment from United's fund timed as coming at just the right moment. With AirPlant One almost ready to go, the company is on the cusp of proving that its SAF technology is not only feasible but scalable. Flanders pointed out that Twelve is shifting from thinking about sustainable aviation and working actively on solutions that can fulfill airlines' operational requirements as well as world climate goals.

United Airlines' partnership with Twelve marks a wider industry movement toward the integration of SAF as a pillar of decarbonization plans. Though SAF is only beginning to gain traction, partnerships such as this one are expediting its production and assisting in breaking down hurdles to large-scale production and consumer acceptance. For United, the investment aligns with its vision of driving the aviation sector towards a more sustainable future, and for Twelve, it provides the chance to prove the commercial and environmental advantages of its CO2-to-fuel technology.

As AirPlant One goes online, the success of this project could lead to increased production capacity, additional funding, and broad adoption of SAF technologies within the industry. Collaboration between aviation leaders and cleantech visionaries is critical in bringing the vision of carbon-neutral air travel to life, and United and Twelve's collaboration is a healthy move in that direction.