United Airlines Pledges Investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel Technology Using Algae

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United invests $5 million in Viridos, a bioengineering company that manufactures Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from microalgae. This is the inaugural investment from United's recently announced UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, which aims to decarbonize both passenger and cargo transportation.

Algae is a scalable and abundant resource that can be grown and harvested without impacting the food supply chain, making it an attractive source for biofuel production. Viridos has developed technology that accelerates the amount of oil that can be produced from microalgae, achieving seven times the oil productivity compared to typical wild-type algae. This creates an opportunity for potentially scalable and more sustainable production of algae oil that could later be used to produce SAF.

On a lifecycle basis, Viridos' algae oil-derived SAF is anticipated to have a 70% smaller carbon footprint compared to conventional jet fuel, based on current estimates. United has invested in the future production of more than 3 billion gallons of SAF and aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 without using traditional carbon offsets.

Viridos intends to establish production sites for the cultivation of engineered microalgae in saltwater, laying the groundwork for a biofuel future that transitions away from fossil fuels without competing for precious resources such as fresh water and arable land. Through SAF research, technology, and production, United and other corporate partners will help bring algae biofuels to market and decarbonize air travel.

United and its initial corporate partners, Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase, and Honeywell, have contributed more than $100 million to the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund. Mike Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, stated, "Viridos' algae-based biofuel technology has the potential to help solve our supply problem without requiring farmland or other agricultural resources. This is the first investment made by our new cross-industry UAV Sustainable Flight Fund."

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