Commercial, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  December 1, 2023

American Airlines Purchases Carbon Removal

American Airlines purchased 10,000 tons of permanent carbon removal to be delivered in early 2025.   

The carbon removal will be conducted by Graphyte, a carbon removal startup backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Graphyte’s Carbon Casting process leverages readily available biomass, efficient processing and state-of-the-art monitoring to make carbon dioxide (CO2) removal quantifiable and permanent.  Relative to existing carbon removal approaches, Carbon Casting permanently removes and stores CO2 using significantly less energy and at a substantially lower cost.  

American has a long-term goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and is investing in a variety of technologies to reduce its carbon footprint. The purchase of carbon removal credits from Graphyte will help the airline accelerate and scale the CO2 removal market.

“American is focused on accelerating new low-carbon technologies to reduce aviation’s climate impact,” said Jill Blickstein, Chief Sustainability Officer at American in a statement. “Hard to abate industries like aviation will need high-quality, permanent, affordable and scalable carbon credits — including removals — to achieve our emissions reduction goals. We are excited to work with Graphyte to help them scale their important new technology.”

This first commercial-scale deployment of Carbon Casting will take place at a Graphyte facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Carbon Casting leverages readily available biomass byproducts, including crop and wood residues, that have already captured significant CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The biomass is then dried to prevent decomposition, converted into dense carbon blocks, wrapped in an environmentally safe polymer barrier, and monitored in a state-of-the-art underground storage facility.

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