Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  February 28, 2025

United Airlines Purchases Carbon Removal

United announced that the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund made an investment in a direct air capture (DAC) company and plans to purchase carbon dioxide removal.

The airline made an investment into Heirloom — which produces measurable, quantifiable carbon reduction technology — and added it to its portfolio of decarbonization strategies. 

The Fund also entered an agreement for the right to purchase up to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to be delivered for the production of sustainable aviation fuel or permanently stored underground.

Heirloom's already-proven and scalable technology accelerates the natural power of limestone to capture CO2 directly from the air, making it potentially one of the lowest cost pathways for removing carbon dioxide.

"Carbon capture is one of our country's fastest growing, energy enabling pathways," said Andrew Chang, head of United Airlines Ventures, in a statement. "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."

Heirloom marks United's third carbon capture investment but the first in a company commercializing direct air capture technology. DAC is one of two main forms of carbon capture utilization and storage, along with point source capture. Unlike point source capture, which captures CO2 from a specific emitting source like a power plant, DAC removes atmospheric CO2.

The UAV Sustainable Flight Fund is an investment vehicle designed to leverage support from cross-industry businesses in order to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel. The fund is comprised of over $200 million in investment commitments from United and corporate partners including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Aircastle, American Express Global Business Travel, Aviation Capital Group, Boeing, Boston Consulting Group, Embraer, GE Aerospace, Google, Groupe ADP, Hawaiian Airlines, HIS, Honeywell, JetBlue Ventures, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies, among others.

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