Air travel as it exists today is inherently bad for the environment. While there’s a lot of work to be done, there are companies working to reduce emissions to make flying more sustainable. United Airlines is leading the way in many ways among companies based in the United States — one of the big reasons United was named Matador Network’s top airline two years in a row. It recently took another step toward incorporating sustainable technology into its regular operations through United’s UAV Sustainable Flight Fund.
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The Future of Sustainable Air Travel? United Airlines Plans to Remove 500,000 Tons of CO2 With Direct Air Capture Investment
On February 25, United announced that it was investing in the direct air capture (DAC) company Heirloom. With the investment, United also signed an agreement to purchase up to 500,000 tons of CO2 removal.
DAC is one of the more promising ways to reduce greenhouse gasses. Matador editor Tim Wenger recently published a long, well-sourced story explaining the potential benefits and drawbacks of how DAC can help the travel industry reach sustainability goals. In the most simple explanation, it works by capturing CO2 straight from the atmosphere and then puts it back into the earth.
Heirloom uses limestone to capture CO2 from the air for a more cost-effective DAC method. It started operating North America’s first commercial DAC facility in California in 2023.
“Carbon capture is one of our country’s fastest growing, energy enabling pathways,” Andrew Chang, head of United Airlines Ventures, said in a press release. “At UAV, our primary focus is finding solutions for decarbonization that are profitable. Heirloom’s technology aligns directly with this objective, offering a scalable and commercially viable approach and complements United’s commitment to net zero by 2050.”
The latest investment from the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund adds to a roster of investments in start-ups that decarbonize air travel through more than $200 million in commitments from United and its corporate partners. It’s just one small step toward the sustainable metrics we need as flying becomes increasingly accessible, but an important one. 