Flying green: Southwest Airlines’ latest venture with SAFFiRE for cleaner aviation fuel

Friday, March 29, 2024

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) has revealed that its subsidiary, Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, LLC (SARV), a wholly owned entity, has successfully acquired SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC (SAFFiRE).The objective of SARV is to enhance Southwest®’s capability to secure scalable sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through deliberate investments.

SAFFiRE is engaged in a Department of Energy (DOE)-backed project focused on developing and producing renewable ethanol that can be transformed into SAF. Leveraging technology devised at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), SAFFiRE plans to convert corn stover, an abundant agricultural by-product in the U.S., into renewable ethanol.

“This acquisition marks Southwest’s transition from investor to sole owner of SAFFiRE, expressing our confidence in SAFFiRE’s technology and its potential to advance our sustainability goals as well as the goals of the broader industry,” said Bob Jordan, President & CEO of Southwest Airlines. “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. We look forward to continuing our journey with SAFFiRE as part of our efforts to propel this promising technology forward.”

Southwest initially supported SAFFiRE by investing in the first phase of its pilot project in 2022. Following this acquisition, SAFFiRE is slated to advance to the second phase, which involves setting up a pilot plant at the Conestoga Arkalon Energy ethanol facility located in Liberal, Kansas. This plant aims to process 10 tons of corn stover daily using SAFFiRE’s proprietary technology licensed from NREL, to produce renewable ethanol. This ethanol is then expected to be transformed into SAF by LanzaJet, Inc. (LanzaJet), a company specializing in SAF technology and production, noted for its patented ethanol-to-SAF conversion process and operating the world’s inaugural commercial ethanol-to-SAF plant.

“Renewable ethanol is an important feedstock to realizing high-volume, affordable SAF, which is a critical part of the journey to net zero carbon emissions,” said Tom Nealon, President of SARV and CEO of SAFFiRE. “We are enthusiastic about the ethanol-to-SAF pathway and SAFFiRE’s potential ability to produce renewable ethanol at a scale that is economically viable.”

This move comes on the heels of Southwest’s recent investment in LanzaJet, marking a significant step in the airline’s commitment to sustainability and the expansion of its SAF portfolio.

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