Alaska Airlines has announced its participation as a cornerstone investor in a $150 million fund aimed at advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technologies. This initiative, in collaboration with oneworld Alliance members and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), seeks to accelerate the development of cost-competitive, lower-emission SAF solutions.
The oneworld BEV SAF Fund has successfully secured $150 million in its initial phase to support companies working on scalable, next-generation SAF solutions. According to an official announcement from the oneworld Alliance, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are leading investors, with additional contributions from other alliance members. The fund's objective is to address the high costs and limited supply of SAF by supporting early-stage innovators capable of producing commercial volumes at competitive prices.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates, will manage the fund and play a crucial role in evaluating and scaling promising SAF technologies. As reported by PR Newswire, BEV intends to leverage its expertise in clean energy commercialization to identify companies that can significantly reduce aviation’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions while adhering to safety and infrastructure standards. By combining airline demand with venture funding, BEV and its partners aim to expedite SAF adoption and bridge the cost gap with traditional fossil jet fuels.