Southwest Airlines announced it has acquired Saffire Renewables, a producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company will be part of the investment portfolio of the airline’s wholly owned subsidiary, Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures.

Saffire is part of a project supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and produce scalable renewable ethanol that can be upgraded into SAF. Saffire expects to utilize technology developed at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to convert corn stover, a widely available agricultural residue feedstock in the US, into renewable ethanol.

Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest, said the acquisition marks the airline’s transition from investor to sole owner, and expresses the company’s confidence in Saffire’s technology and its potential to advance the airline’s sustainability goals as well as the goals of the broader industry.

“Championing SAF is a key pillar of Southwest’s Nonstop to Net Zero plan,” said Jordan, “and our work toward a more sustainable future for air travel.”

Image: Shutterstock