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Home  >  News • United Airlines  >  United Airlines Embraces Direct Air Capture Technology
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United Airlines Embraces Direct Air Capture Technology

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 10, 2020December 10, 2020 7 Comments

United Airlines Direct Air Capture

United Airlines pledges to go green by 2050…and it won’t be from buying carbon offsets. Instead, through investments in Direct Air Capture and sustainable aviation fuel, United Airlines pledges to actually make the air cleaner and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 100%.

United Airlines Pledges Investment In Direct Air Capture Technology

United pledges a multimillion-dollar investment in 1PointFive, which plans to develop Direct Air Capture facilities at an industrial-scale around the world. United notes:

Direct Air Capture technology is one of the few proven ways to physically correct for aircraft emissions, and can scale to capture millions and potentially billions of metric tons of CO2 per year. The captured CO2 will then be permanently, safely and securely stored deep underground by Occidental, a process certified by independent third parties.

With this investment, 1PointFive will build its first industrial-sized Direct Air Capture commercial plant in the United States. A single plant is expected to capture and permanently sequester one million tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of the work of 40 million trees, but covering a land area about 3,000 times smaller.

United Airlines Pledges Investment In Sustainable Fuels

Additionally, United pledges additional investment in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It notes that SAF has become increasingly “cost-competitive” and notes since 2016 United has flown:

  • 26 million passengers on flights powered with a SAF blend
  • 44 billion passenger-miles on flights powered with a SAF blend
  • 215,000 flights powered with a SAF blend

United became the first airline to replace jet fuel with plant-based fuel on a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles in 2019. It now plans to expand this technology to both short and long haul flights.


> Read More: United Airlines Operates “Flight For The Planet”


Why Here, Why Now?

During this unprecedented period of low-demand fueled by the pandemic, why is United pouring millions into this new project? In an extended letter to customers, CEO Scott Kirby laid out the objectives:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the world in many ways…Still, this crisis will end. That’s why we’re keeping our focus on another crisis that will force all of us to change our behavior in far more dramatic ways than the pandemic ever did: the crisis of a changing climate.

“The longer we wait, the more drastic those changes will have to be. So we have to start making them now. And rather than pay lip service to the problem, United is taking advantage of this moment to lead our industry toward real solutions and lasting change.

“As the leader of one of the world’s largest airlines, I recognize our responsibility in contributing to fight climate change, as well as our responsibility to solve it. These game-changing technologies will significantly reduce our emissions, and measurably reduce the speed of climate change – because buying carbon offsets alone is just not enough.

“Perhaps most importantly, we’re not just doing it to meet our own sustainability goal; we’re doing it to drive the positive change our entire industry requires so that every airline can eventually join us and do the same.”

CONCLUSION

United’s new goal is ambitious and frankly sounds extremely productive and a better alternative than a carbon tax. Before I offer further commentary, however, I will be spending some time researching Direct Air Capture technology. If you are familiar with it, please leave a comment below.

Are you surprised by United’s pledge to become carbon neutral over the next 30 years? Will United Airlines’ Direct Air Capture and sustainable jet fuel program help to achieve net zero emissions (and potentially net negative emissions), thus making a long term difference?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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7 Comments

  1. debit Reply
    December 10, 2020 at 8:11 am

    I hope white Republican males will realize they are being forced to buy overpriced tickets just because some airline wants to virtue signal and they will take the bus, drive or walk to their destination in order to own the libtards.

    • debit Reply
      December 10, 2020 at 8:16 am

      By the way carbon capture and sequestration has been the big oil talking point, paying lip service, since the Bush era. If they were serious then the technology would already be in production now. I think they used it as deflection of criticism then. Maybe things are different now. The millennials are grown up and increasingly have more spending power so the old white farts might actually have to pay attention.

  2. Airfarer Reply
    December 10, 2020 at 9:29 am

    One fervently hopes, that, as the millennials mature intellectually, they will realize – as have many others before them – that there is no way around the conservation of energy.

    Now, we could use nuclear power to reduce emissions when capturing the gas but this idea makes them immediately reach for their lead-lined clothing.

  3. Joe Reply
    December 10, 2020 at 11:02 am

    They can virtue signal with this crap all they want. No one cares as long as prices don’t rise.

    • Pete Reply
      December 10, 2020 at 11:21 am

      “They” as in Joe included.

  4. Glenn Reply
    December 10, 2020 at 12:23 pm

    Matthew – Although there are several plants set up in the experimental stage, none are economically viable. Here is a really good article from the International Energy Agency to help you understand: https://www.iea.org/reports/direct-air-capture

    Think of solar panels in 1980 and that is probably equivalent to where this tech is currently. Eventually, it can work, but not commercially viable for a while. Happy to explain the two main technologies to you if you want to follow up.

    • TCD Reply
      December 10, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      Thanks for the update Matthew. Reconciling my concerns about climate change with my love of travel has been increasingly difficult so I really hope United (and other airlines) can make real progress on this.

      And thanks for that link Glenn, I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how much real progress they expect to happen over the next 10 years.

      The impact of new ESG demands from institutional investors is really driving a lot of innovation, I guess a classic example of “money talks”!

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