JetBlue announced today an agreement with climate tech startup AIR COMPANY to purchase sustainable aviation fuel made from captured CO2.

Launched in 2019, AIR COMPANY creates consumer and industrial products from carbon dioxide, utilizing proprietary technology that uses air, water and renewable energy to produce carbon negative alcohols and fuels. JetBlue’s venture capital arm, JetBlue Ventures recently invested in a Series A funding round by AIR COMPANY.

SAF, seen as one of the key tools to help decarbonize the airline industry, is generally produced from sustainable resources, like waste oils and agricultural residues, rather than from fossil fuels. While SAF typically generates approximately 80% less lifecycle carbon emissions than conventional jet fuel, AIR COMPANY’s newly introduced AIRMADE SAF offers a 94% reduction, and also resolves constraints such as feedstock availability.

Gregory Constantine, CEO and Co-Founder of AIR COMPANY, said:

“Our goal at AIR COMPANY is to create solutions that work with the environment, rather than against it. Our CO2-derived SAF has the ability to not only burn neutrally, but importantly leverages an infinite resource as our feedstock.”

Under the new agreement, JetBlue has announced its intent to purchase 25 million gallons of SAF from AIR COMPANY over 5 years, with a targeted start date of 2027. JetBlue announced last year a goal for 10% of its total jet fuel to be from blended SAF by 2030, as well as a target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Sara Bogdan, Director of Sustainability and ESG at JetBlue, said:

“SAF is one of the most promising avenues for addressing aviation emissions currently available. With creative thinking backed by science, AIR COMPANY’s work to leverage captured carbon, a resource distinct from other SAF feedstocks, represents the kind of innovation that can expand SAF availability and grow the market necessary to reach our industry goals. We’re excited to build upon this partnership established by JetBlue Ventures as we continue our own path to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.”