US major United Airlines has agree to invest $15 million in Chicago-based Svante, which offers carbon capture and removal solutions as part of the value chain to convert removed carbon dioxide (CO2) into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the companies said in a joint statement.
Svante uses the so-called solid sorbent technology, which employs structured absorbent beds, or filters, to capture up to 95% of CO2 from the atmosphere or from industrial sites.
The captured CO2 is then concentrated to pipeline grade purity and can be safely transported and stored underground or used to make SAF or other products.
This investment was made via United Airlines’ new Sustainable Flight Fund and is part of Svante’s Series E financing round.
It will be used to finance Svante’s commercial-scale filter production facility in Vancouver, Canada, which is expected to produce enough filters to capture millions of tons of CO2 each year.
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“The airline industry has a huge opportunity to make a big impact on global decarbonization – battling climate change through the transition to sustainable aviation fuels and other innovative technologies that will help the world achieve net zero,” Svante’s President and CEO, Claude Letourneau, commented.
The move is in line with United Airlines’ ambition to completely remove its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and be 100% green by 2050, without relying on typical carbon offsets. For that purpose, the company made various investments supporting the future production of over three billion gallons of SAF so far.
Svante is working with carbon utilization firm Dimensional Energy, which transforms CO2 into SAF, also recently funded by United Airlines.
SAF, which helps reduce GHG emissions from air travel, is currently produced from cooking oil and agricultural waste, but other input materials are being explored, including household trash, forest waste, and compressed CO2, which is Svante’s end product.
Read more: GE And Svante To Collaborate On Carbon Capture Tech For Heavy Industry
