Published by Todd Bush on March 29, 2024
DALLAS, March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) announces the acquisition of SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC (SAFFiRE) as part of the investment portfolio of its wholly owned subsidiary Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, LLC (SARV). SARV is dedicated to creating more opportunities for Southwest® to obtain scalable sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
>> In Other News: dynaCERT Provides Update on the Purchase Order for HydraGEN™ Units Destined for Guyana
SAFFiRE is part of a project supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and produce scalable renewable ethanol that can be upgraded into SAF. SAFFiRE expects to utilize technology developed at the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to convert corn stover, a widely available agricultural residue feedstock 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 first invested in SAFFiRE during phase one of the pilot project in 2022. With this acquisition, SAFFiRE is expected to proceed with phase two of the project by developing a pilot plant hosted at Conestoga's Arkalon Energy ethanol facility in Liberal, Kansas. Initially, this plant is intended to utilize SAFFiRE's exclusive technology license from NREL to process 10 tons of corn stover per day for the production of renewable ethanol. Then, the plan is for the ethanol to be converted into SAF by LanzaJet, Inc. (LanzaJet).
"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."
The acquisition of SAFFiRE comes shortly after Southwest announced an investment in LanzaJet, a SAF technology provider and producer with a patented ethanol-to-SAF technology and the world's first ethanol-to-SAF commercial plant.
For more on Southwest's Nonstop to Net Zero plan outlining the carrier's path toward net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a more sustainable future through carbon, circularity1, and collaboration, visit southwest.com/planet.
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside this Issue 🌍 HIF Global Signs Collaboration Agreement with Airbus for Sustainable Aviation Fuels 🔋 Exxonmobil Signs Carbon Capture Agreement With CF Industries in Mississippi 🚧 After Year...
I've been monitoring the climatetech and decarbonization startups this year, and here’s what I learned. International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global clean energy investment to hit $2 trillion ...
Inside this Issue 🌱 FuelPositive: Completes On-Farm Commissioning of the First Scalable Green Ammonia Production System and Announces New Manitoba-Based Partnerships 🌍 A New Era for Clean Energy: ...
Siemens Energy Wins Contract for Large-scale Hydrogen Project From German Utility EWE
[**Siemens Energy**](https://www.siemens-energy.com/) **has been awarded a contract to supply a 280-megawatt electrolysis system by German utility EWE. The plant in the German city of Emden is expe...
Shell to Build 100-megawatt Renewable Hydrogen Electrolyser in Germany
COLOGNE/WESSELING, GERMANY – [Shell Deutschland GmbH](https://www.shell.de) (**Shell**) has taken a Final Investment Decision (FID) to progress REFHYNE II, a 100-megawatt renewable proton-exchange ...
After Years of Controversy, Illinois State Pauses CO2 Pipeline Construction, for Now
**New safety requirements for carbon dioxide pipelines as well as a temporary ban on their construction are now in effect after Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed a bill that passed the General As...
Exxonmobil Signs Carbon Capture Agreement With CF Industries in Mississippi
* We’ll remove up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2 annually from CF Industries’ site in Yazoo City. * It’s the latest sign of our leadership in CCS, a proven emissions solution. * ...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.