Exclusive: Air Company inks $65M fuel deal with U.S. Air Force
- Megan Hernbroth, author of Axios Pro: Climate Deals
(U.S. Navy Photo by Jimmy Lee/Getty Images)
Air Company, the vodka-distiller turned sustainable aviation fuel maker (SAF), has inked a $65 million government deal for testing SAF production with the U.S. Air Force, the company exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: This is Air Company's latest high-profile SAF contract and a deal that highlights the fuel's potential to become a low-emission heavyweight in aviation.
Driving the news: The contract comes after a successful jet test flight last year that ran solely on unblended SAF, Air Company CEO Gregory Constantine tells Axios.
- The $65 million will allow Air Company to test whether it can make SAF in remote locations such as an aircraft carrier.
- The contract also includes certain milestones related to the number of gallons of SAF that Air Company will produce, but Constantine declined to disclose those figures.
How it works: Air Company makes SAF by heating up water and carbon using renewable power.
- It has fuel-purchase contracts in place with JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic and Boom Supersonic.
Of note: Constantine declined to comment on the company's fundraising activity. It raised $30 million in Series A funding in April.
The bottom line: Wider adoption and commercial use of SAF still remains far off, even as pilots take off.