US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines is pushing the drive for cleaner fuels through the total acquisition of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer SAFFiRE.
The airline, which is already an investor in cleaner fuel producer SAFFiRE Renewables LLC, has now taken over the SAF producer.
The latest move (phase two of a pilot project) will assist the airline in advancing its plans to replace a percentage of its total jet fuel consumption with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The project is good news for Southwest because having easier access to SAF is beneficial since SAF is costly and not widely available.
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES ACQUIRES SAFFiRE
SAFFiRE is a US-based corn stover (leaves and stalks of field crops) to ethanol technology company.
In 2022, SouthWest took a major step forward in sustainability by investing in SAFFiRE, during the first phase of this pilot project.
Southwest Airlines has committed to replacing 10% of its total jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.
ETHANOL PLANT
SAFFiRE will design and build a plant where it will produce renewable ethanol that can be upgraded into SAF.
Renewablesnow reports that the facility will be located at Conestoga Energy’s ethanol facility in Kansas, USA.
SAF PRODUCTION
The output will then be converted into SAF by Illinois-based sustainable fuels firm LanzaJet Inc.
Moreover, the company is part of a project supported by the US Department of Energy (DoE).
Initially, it expects to use technology developed at the DoE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), to process 10 tonnes of corn stover per day to produce renewable ethanol.
“Championing SAF is a key pillar of Southwest’s Nonstop to Net Zero plan and our work toward a more sustainable future for air travel,”
Southwest CEO, Bob Jordan
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
The airline is a major US budget carrier. It operates scheduled services to 121 destinations in the US and 10 other countries.
As of 2018, Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other United States airline.
As such, it is currently the third largest airline in North America, based on the number of passengers flown.
