United Airlines Sustainable Flight Fund Continues to Grow

Image: United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund. (Photo Credit: United Airlines Media)

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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