An arm of United Airlines could invest as much as $37.5 million in a US biofuels refinery.
The facility in Oregon could produce up to 50,000 barrels a day of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, and other renewable fuels.
Production is expected to begin in 2026 at the Next Renewable Fuels bio-refinery.
The investment in Houston-based Next is United Airlines Ventures (UAV) fifth SAF-related technology investment, and its first investment directly in a bio-refinery.
UAV is a ventures fund that targets start-ups, upcoming technologies, and concepts that will complement United’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 – without relying on traditional carbon offsets such as voluntary offsets or planting trees
President Michael Leskinen said: ”Right now, one of the biggest barriers to increasing supply and lowering costs of sustainable fuel is that we don’t have the infrastructure in place to transport it efficiently, but Next’s strategic location and assets solve that problem and provide a blueprint for future facilities that need to be built.
“We believe this investment will not only bolster Next’s ambitions and create near-term solutions to expand our SAF supply, but further demonstrates our commitment toward producing SAF at the scale necessary to decarbonise the aviation industry.”
Next chief executive Christopher Efird added: “The clean fuels industry is taking off and our access to feedstocks, multi-modal distribution, and major industry players positions us to be a leading SAF supplier on the West Coast.
“United’s investment in Next strengthens our resolve to be one of the clean fuels leaders in the transportation sector.”