DALLAS, Nov. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today
announced a 15-year offtake agreement with Velocys Renewables LLC
("Velocys") for 219 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF). As announced by Velocys today, once blended with
conventional jet fuel, the SAF could produce the equivalent of 575
million gallons of net-zero1 fuel and avoid 6.5 million
metric tons of CO2 over the term of the agreement.
Southwest® plans to begin purchasing SAF from the Velocys Bayou
Fuels facility in Natchez,
Mississippi, as early as 2026. Additionally, as part of the
offtake agreement, Southwest and Velocys have established a
long-term strategic relationship, offering Southwest the
opportunity to purchase significant volumes of SAF from future
Velocys facilities.
"This agreement is a major advancement in our environmental
sustainability strategy, furthering our goal to replace 10
percent of our total jet fuel consumption with sustainable aviation
fuel by 2030," said Michael
AuBuchon, Senior Director Fuel Supply Chain Management at
Southwest Airlines. "This new strategic relationship with
Velocys could ultimately provide Southwest access to additional
significant quantities of sustainable aviation fuel."
"Our 15-year offtake agreement with Southwest Airlines will
enable them to utilize the lowest carbon intensity sustainable
aviation fuel announced to date," said Henrik Wareborn, CEO of
Velocys. "The SAF produced at the Bayou Fuels facility plans
to utilize a sustainable feedstock (forestry residues from
plantation forests) and renewable power from a neighboring solar
facility, as well as contract for carbon capture that will
sequester more than 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. It
also is expected to have a greater than 99 percent reduction in
sulfur as compared to conventional jet fuel, reducing the emissions
of this conventional pollutant."
Southwest recognizes the critical role that commercially viable
SAF will play in the carrier's strategy to achieve carbon
neutrality by 2050. Southwest is one of the most honored airlines
in the world and strives to maintain a steadfast focus on a triple
bottom line: People, Performance, and Planet. Learn about
Southwest's citizenship efforts and how the carrier gives back to
communities across the world by
visiting Southwestonereport.com.
ABOUT VELOCYS
Velocys is an LSE-listed, international
sustainable fuels technology company, traded on the AIM, providing
clients with a technology solution to enable the production of
negative Carbon Intensity synthetic, drop-in fuels from a variety
of waste materials. SAF ('Sustainable Aviation Fuel') is the only
commercially available, permanent alternative to fossil aviation
fuels.
The technology is IP-protected in all major jurisdictions.
Two reference projects in the US and UK (Bayou Fuels and
Altalto) are designed to accelerate the adoption and standardize
the Velocys proprietary Fischer Tropsch (FT) technology and Bio
Energy with CCS solution, BECCS. Velocys is investing in increased
capability to deliver its technology to clients, enabling
commercial scale SAF production in response to the mandated fuel
transition.
Velocys technology pathway is enabling the next generation of
low carbon sustainable fuels with significant additional positive
air quality impacts.
www.velocys.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements related to (i) Southwest Airlines
Co.'s (the "Company") plans and expectations with respect to
purchasing sustainable aviation fuel from Velocys Renewables LLC
("Velocys"); (ii) the Company's ability to blend sustainable
aviation fuel; (iii) Velocys' production abilities and plans for
development of future facilities; (iv) the Company's goal to
replace conventional jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel; and
(v) the expected environmental benefits realized from the purchase
and use of sustainable aviation fuel from Velocys.
Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties,
assumptions, and other factors that are difficult to predict and
that could cause actual results to vary materially from those
expressed in or indicated by them. Factors include, among others,
(i) the Company's dependence on other third parties, in particular
with respect to the production, transport, storage, blending, and
distribution of sustainable aviation fuel, and the impact on the
Company's goals and plans of any third party delays or
non-performance; (ii) the impact of legislative and regulatory
activity related to sustainable aviation fuel, in particular with
respect to tax credits and compliance requirements; (iii) the
Company's ability to timely and effectively implement and maintain
the necessary processes to support the utilization of sustainable
aviation fuel; (iv) the impact of economic conditions, governmental
actions, climate-related conditions and weather events, fuel
prices, actions of competitors, socio-demographic trends, consumer
perception, and other factors beyond the Company's
control, on the Company's business plans, expectations, and
goals; and (v) other factors, as described in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed
factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, the Company's Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2021, and the Company's Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021. Caution should be taken not
to place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking
statements, which represent the Company's views only as of the date
this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its
51st year of
service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines
Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air
carriers with Customer Service delivered by approximately
54,000 Employees to a Customer base that topped 130 million
Passengers in 2019. Southwest has a robust network of
point-to-point service with a strong presence across top leisure
and business markets. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest
operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101
destinations in the United States and 10 additional
countries. In 2020, the carrier added service to Hilo,
Hawaii; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Palm Springs,
Calif.; Steamboat Springs; and Montrose (Telluride),
Colo. Thus far in 2021, Southwest has initiated service
to Chicago (O'Hare) and Sarasota/Bradenton both
on Feb. 14; Savannah/Hilton
Head and Colorado Springs both on March
11; Houston (Bush) and Santa Barbara,
Calif. both on April
12; Fresno, Calif. on April
25; Destin/Fort Walton Beach on May 6; Myrtle Beach, S.C. on
May 23; Bozeman, Mont. on
May 27; Jackson, Miss. on
June 6; Eugene, Ore. on Aug.
29; and Bellingham, Wash.
on Nov 7. The carrier will begin
service to Syracuse on Nov. 14.
The carrier issued its Southwest® Promise in
May 2020 to highlight new and
round-the-clock efforts to support its Customers and Employees
well-being and comfort. Among the changes are enhanced cleaning
efforts at airports and onboard aircraft, along with a federal
mandate requiring every person to wear a mask at all times
throughout each flight. Additional details about the Southwest
Promise are available
at Southwest.com/Promise.
Southwest coined Transfarency® to describe its
purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and
low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S.
airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second
checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some
carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified
circumstances). Southwest does not charge change fees, though fare
differences might apply.
Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online
at Southwest.com or by phone at
800-I-FLY-SWA®.
1 Net zero is determined by a fuel with a carbon
intensity of zero (0) gCO2e/MJ or lower on a lifecycle
basis.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.