Largest SAF deal to date

UNITED Airlines has announced its intention to purchase 1.5 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from cleantech company Alder Fuels - a move the airline claims is the largest publicly announced agreement of its kind in aviation history.

The acquisition also surpasses its own previous record set in 2015 when it bought 900 million gallons of green fuel from Fulcrum BioEnergy.

UA’s CEO Scott Kirby said the latest deal represents a major step towards being truly sustainable and avoiding a reliance on carbon offsets.

“UA has stayed focused on decarbonising without relying on the use of traditional carbon offsets,” he said.

“Part of that commitment means increasing SAF usage and availability since it’s the fastest way to reduce emissions across our fleet.

“However, to scale SAF as quickly as necessary, we need to look beyond existing solutions and invest in research and development for new pathways like the one Alder is developing,” Kirby added.

The US Department of Energy believes agricultural residues alone could provide enough biomass energy to generate more than 17b gallons of jet fuel and displace 75% of US aviation fuel.