28-03-2024
Southwest Airlines acquires SAFFiRE Renewables and strengthens focus on sustainability
Southwest Airlines Co, announces the acquisition of SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC as part of the investment portfolio of its wholly owned subsidiary Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures LLC. SARV is dedicated to creating more opportunities for Southwest® to obtain scalable sustainable aviation fuel.
SAFFiRE is part of a project supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and produce scalable renewable ethanol that can be upgraded into SAF. SAFFiRE expects to utilize technology developed at the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to convert corn stover, a widely available agricultural residue feedstock in the U.S., into renewable ethanol.
"This acquisition marks Southwest's transition from investor to sole owner of SAFFiRE, expressing our confidence in SAFFiRE's technology and its potential to advance our sustainability goals as well as the goals of the broader industry," said Bob Jordan, President & CEO of Southwest Airlines. "Championing SAF is a key pillar of Southwest's Nonstop to Net Zero plan and our work toward a more sustainable future for air travel. We look forward to continuing our journey with SAFFiRE as part of our efforts to propel this promising technology forward."
Southwest first invested in SAFFiRE during phase one of the pilot project in 2022. With this acquisition, SAFFiRE is expected to proceed with phase two of the project by developing a pilot plant hosted at Conestoga's Arkalon Energy ethanol facility in Liberal, Kansas. Initially, this plant is intended to utilize SAFFiRE's exclusive technology license from NREL to process 10 tons of corn stover per day for the production of renewable ethanol. Then, the plan is for the ethanol to be converted into SAF by LanzaJet, Inc. (LanzaJet).
"Renewable ethanol is an important feedstock to realizing high-volume, affordable SAF, which is a critical part of the journey to net zero carbon emissions," said Tom Nealon, President of SARV and CEO of SAFFiRE. "We are enthusiastic about the ethanol-to-SAF pathway and SAFFiRE's potential ability to produce renewable ethanol at a scale that is economically viable."
The acquisition of SAFFiRE comes shortly after Southwest announced an investment in LanzaJet, a SAF technology provider and producer with a patented ethanol-to-SAF technology and the world's first ethanol-to-SAF commercial plant.
News Category:
-
The progress of sustainable aviation fuel solutions for the decarbonisation of aviation
(Webinar) - As the world increasingly commits to steeper decarbonization targets, the aviation industry is determined to develop sustainable solutions to produce cost-competitive, ...
22-05-2024
-
Kent secures FEED contract for UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel Project with Fulcrum BioEnergy
Kent, a leading engineering and project management company, is proud to announce that it has been awarded the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) contract for a groundbreaking ...
02-05-2024
-
OMV and Borealis sign supply agreements with TOMRA for recycling feedstock from mixed waste
OMV and Borealis have entered into long-term feedstock supply agreements for their recycling facilities with TOMRA Feedstock, a subsidiary of leading sorting technology ...
02-05-2024
-
Topsoe awarded contract to support feed study for new low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana, USA
Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, has signed a contract with CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, for the licensing ...
02-05-2024
-
Tristar Eships to manage its carbon footprint with Wärtsilä’s Decarbonisation Services
Technology group Wärtsilä’s unique Decarbonisation Services have been chosen to support Tristar Eships, the maritime logistics division of the Dubai-based Tristar ...
02-05-2024
-
CF Industries award Topsoe contract to support FEED study for new low-carbon ammonia plant
Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, has signed a contract with CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, for the licensing ...
01-05-2024
-
Carbon Clean achieves fabrication milestone on FlagshipONE with first carbon capture unit module
Carbon Clean, a leader in revolutionising carbon capture solutions, has achieved a fabrication milestone on Ørsted’s FlagshipONE project, Europe’s largest commercial-scale ...
30-04-2024
-
Topsoe secures first Sustainable Aviation Fuel Project in China
Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, has signed an agreement with Guangxi Hongkun Biomass to provide its HydroFlex™ technology to produce ...
30-04-2024
-
LyondellBasell to build integrated plastic waste recycling hub in Knapsack
LyondellBasell has secured a location for an integrated plastic waste recycling hub south of an existing industrial park in Knapsack, Germany, signing a land lease agreement ...
29-04-2024
-
Aspen Technology introduces new strategic planning for sustainability pathways solution
Aspen Technology Inc, a global leader in industrial software, today introduced AspenTech Strategic Planning for Sustainability Pathways™, a new and unique integrated ...
26-04-2024