JetBlue has invested in a carbon capture startup and joined a fund established by United Airlines in a bid to bring the industry together to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Investment arm JetBlue Ventures has participated in an $80 million fundraising round by Avnos, a Los Angeles-based company developing Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) technology that captures both carbon dioxide (CO2) and water from the atmosphere in a single system.
Where other forms of direct air capture consume several tons of water per ton of CO2 captured, Avnos says its system generates 5-10 tons of water for every ton of CO2. The captured water is used to drive a moisture-responsive CO2 adsorbent material. This eliminates the need for heat, reducing energy consumption to less than half that of competing systems, the company says.
The technology “not only captures CO2 at impressively low cost but also generates meaningful amounts of water in the process and could play in e-fuel production,” says Jim Lockheed, investment principal at JetBlue Ventures.
Using the capital raised, Avnos plans to begin delivering commercial-ready modular HDAC units by the end of 2025. The startup’s parent company is field-testing a demonstration unit under a $3.5-million project backed by the U.S. Energy Department. This is sized to capture 290 gal./day of water and 30 tons/year of CO2.
Separately, JetBlue Ventures has joined an expansion of the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund to almost $200 million, up from $100 million when the fund was established in February. Hawaiian Airlines, lessor Aviation Capital Group, and airport operator Groupe ADP are also among eight new corporate partners joining the fund.
They join founding partners Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell. “Instead of fighting over the current limited supply of SAF, with our partners we’re working collaboratively to help scale the SAF industry itself, and get to an equity stake in groundbreaking technology while doing it,” United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen says.
