As the countdown to net zero emissions by 2050 speeds up, airlines around the world are looking for more opportunities to ensure they meet their commitments. With the production of sustainable aviation fuel at scale becoming increasingly problematic, United Airlines is hedging its bets by investing in direct air capture.

Airlines need to do more than wait for SAF

Last week, United Airlines (United) announced that the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund had invested in direct air capture (DAC) company Heirloom. United is adding Heirloom’s measurable, quantifiable carbon reduction technology to its already robust portfolio of decarbonization strategies.

United Airlines aircraft at MIA shutterstock_2480579839

Photo: Ceri Breeze | Shutterstock

The United Airlines Ventures (UAV) Sustainable Flight Fund is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to leverage support from cross-industry to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing aviation. The fund is comprised of more than $200 million in investment commitments from United and more than 18 corporate partners, including Air New Zealand, Boeing, Hawaiian Airlines, Air Canada, GE Aerospace and Embraer.

UAV head Andrew Chang said UAV’s primary focus is finding solutions for decarbonization that are profitable and that carbon capture is one of the country’s fastest growing energy enabling pathways. Chang added:

“Heirloom’s technology aligns directly with this objective, offering a scaleable and commercially viable approach and complements United’s commitment to net zero by 2050.”

UAV also entered into an agreement with Heirloom for the right to purchase up to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) – to be delivered for the production of sustainable aviation fuel or permanently stored underground. This is United’s third investment in carbon capture technology but the first in a company commercializing direct air capture technology.

Direct Air Capture removes CO2 from the atmosphere

Direct air capture (DAC) is one of two main forms of carbon capture utilization and storage, along with point source capture. Unlike point source capture, which captures CO2 from a specific emitting source, DAC removes atmospheric CO2. Heirloom’s already-proven and scaleable technology accelerates the natural power of limestone to capture CO2 directly from the air, making it potentially one of the lowest-cost pathways for removing carbon dioxide.

United Airlines - Heirloom-DAC-Facility

Photo: Heirloom

Heirloom was founded in 2020, and in 2023, it began operating North America’s first commercial DAC facility in Tracy, California, and is part of the team building Project Cypress. This is a DAC Hub supported by the Department of Energy that will bring large-scale carbon removal to Louisiana and create nearly 1,000 new jobs.

Related

IATA Updates Net Zero Carbon Emissions 2050 Progress

IATA’s update on the path to net zero emissions presents some encouraging progress, particularly in developing the SAF supply chain.

Heirloom said that getting to net zero will require a strategy that mirrors the one we are already using to address climate change on a global scale. That strategy includes reducing emissions as much as possible and removing any residual emissions that can’t be eliminated.

The Heirloom thinking is to capture CO2 from the atmosphere that can be combined with green hydrogen to produce SAF that is not limited by feedstock availability. This creates a circular carbon flow by reusing carbon already in the atmosphere and using America’s workforce to build more sustainable fuel in the US.

To simplify the picture, Heirloom talks about DAC going into two buckets: the SAF bucket and the removals bucket. As SAF production ramps up, there will be a huge and constantly growing need for DAC to fill the SAF bucket. As net zero 2050 approaches, there will be a growing need for DAC to fill the removals bucket to handle the residual emissions even after full conversion to SAF.

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