CHICAGO and DES PLAINES, Ill., Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United and
Honeywell today announced a joint multimillion-dollar investment in
Alder Fuels – a cleantech company that is pioneering
first-of-its-kind technologies for producing sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) at scale by converting abundant biomass, such as forest
and crop waste, into sustainable low-carbon, drop-in replacement
crude oil that can be used to produce aviation fuel. When used
together across the fuel lifecycle, the Alder technologies, coupled
with Honeywell's Ecofining™ process, could have the ability to
produce a carbon-negative fuel at spec with today's jet fuel. The
goal of the technologies is to produce fuel that is a 100% drop-in
replacement for petroleum jet fuel.
As part of the agreement, United is committing to purchase 1.5
billion gallons of SAF from Alder when produced to United's
requirements. United's purchase agreement, which is one and a half
times the size of the known purchase commitments of all global
airlines combined, makes this easily the largest publicly announced
SAF agreement in aviation history. United's purchase agreement
with Alder also surpasses the previous record set by the airline in
2015 through its investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy with its option to
purchase up to 900 million gallons of SAF.
"Since announcing our 100% green commitment in 2020, United has
stayed focused on decarbonizing without relying on the use of
traditional carbon offsets. 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," said United CEO Scott
Kirby. "United has come further than any other airline
making sustainable travel a reality by using SAF to power flights.
Our leadership gives customers confidence that they are flying with
an airline that recognizes the responsibility we have to help solve
climate change."
"As a pioneer of the SAF market with UOP Ecofining™ technology,
our work with United and Alder on this new technology will help
transform the industry and support the growth of a zero-carbon
economy," said Darius Adamczyk,
Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer. "This solution will
not only advance United's SAF commitment but can help the aviation
industry meet its commitments to decouple increases in carbon
emissions from growth in passengers."
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. forestry
residues and agricultural residues alone could provide enough
biomass energy to generate more than 17 billion gallons of jet fuel
and displace 75% of U.S. aviation fuel consumption. If the U.S.
were to broadly adopt regenerative agricultural practices, which
capture more carbon in healthier soil compared to traditional
methods, the U.S. could generate an additional seven billion
gallons of SAF, which would completely replace the U.S.'s current
fossil jet fuel consumption.
Alder's technology and demand for its fuel from the aviation
industry create a large new market for biomass from regenerative
practices. Use of this biomass further enables Alder's production
process to be carbon negative over the fuel's lifecycle.
"Aviation poses one of the greatest technology challenges for
addressing climate change and SAF has demonstrated the greatest
potential. However, there is insufficient raw material to meet
demand," said Bryan Sherbacow, CEO
of Alder Fuels and senior advisor to World Energy, the company that
owns and operates the world's first SAF refinery. "Alder's
technology revolutionizes SAF production by enabling use of widely
available, low-cost and low-carbon feedstock. The industry is now a
major step closer to using 100% SAF with our drop-in fuel that
accelerates the global transition to a zero-carbon economy."
Prior to founding Alder, Sherbacow built the world's first SAF
refinery utilizing Honeywell's technology and subsequently
contracted with United, enabling the airline to become the first
globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis.
Since then, United has purchased more SAF than any other airline
and, with this agreement now, has more than 70% of the airline
industry's publicly announced SAF commitments. Alder's research is
supported by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency, the DOE and a
partnership with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),
focused on developing technology to process organic waste and
sustainable, non-food plant material into carbon-negative
transportation fuels.
Honeywell innovation established the SAF market with its UOP
Ecofining process, which is the first technology used to maximize
SAF production for commercial aviation. Building on Honeywell's
focus to create sustainable technology, Honeywell will utilize its
expertise and proven process of developing sustainable fuels
alongside Alder, applying proprietary hydroprocessing design
to the process to jointly commercialize the technology.
Commercialization is expected by 2025. This announcement is a clear
example of how Honeywell's Sustainable Technology Solutions
business can partner with early-stage companies and help them scale
faster, access customers and advance research and development to
help drive sustainability at the global level.
United's joint investment in Alder is the latest by United
Airlines Ventures, a venture fund launched earlier this year that
focuses on startups, upcoming technologies, and sustainability
concepts that will complement United's goal of net zero emissions
by 2050 -- without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In 2020,
United became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest
in carbon capture and sequestration and has since followed with
investments in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and
19-seat electric aircraft that have the potential to fly customers
up to 250 miles before the decade's end.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the
World." For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on
Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of
UAL is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About United Airlines Ventures
United's corporate venture capital fund, United Airlines
Ventures, allows the airline to continue investing in emerging
companies that have the potential to influence the future of
travel. The new fund will concentrate on sustainability concepts
that will complement United's goal of net zero emissions by 2050 --
without relying on traditional carbon offsets -- as well as
revolutionary aerospace developments and innovative technologies
that are expected to create value for customers and United's
operation. For more information about United Airlines Ventures,
please visit https://www.united.com/ventures.
About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology
company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include
aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings
and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies
help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and
workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and
more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell,
please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.
About Alder Fuels
Alder Fuels, founded by biofuel and aviation industry
entrepreneur Bryan Sherbacow, is a
process technology and project development company in the
low-carbon energy industry. Alder is commercializing a process to
produce crude oil that is carbon negative, scalable and
cost-competitive with the petroleum it replaces. Critical to rapid,
world-scale deployment, the process will be compatible with the
existing petroleum refining and logistics infrastructure. The
company's collaboration with United Airlines and Honeywell UOP is
expected to propel use of new forms of biomass to power commercial
aircraft, reduce fossil fuel consumption and commercialize
technologies benefiting the flying public. It builds upon a
decade-old relationship among the stakeholders in pioneering
commercialization of industry-leading SAF technology. For
more information about Alder Fuels, visit
http://www.alderfuel.com/.
Forward Looking Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements in this press
release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current
expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future
events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such
forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks
and uncertainties relating to United's and Honeywell's
operations and business environment that may cause actual results
to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied
in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects,"
"will," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains,"
"believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook,"
"goals," "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking
statements include statements that do not relate solely to
historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties
or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known
trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects
of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or
assured. All forward-looking statements in this press release are
based upon information available to us on the date of this press
release. Neither United nor Honeywell undertakes any
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events,
changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law. United's and Honeywell's actual results
could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due
to numerous factors including, without limitation, the risks and
uncertainties set forth under Part II, Item 1A., "Risk Factors," of
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.'s Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2021 and Honeywell's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2020, as
well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time
in the reports United Airlines Holdings, Inc. and Honeywell
file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE United Airlines