United Airlines Commits Up to $37.5M to Biofuel Refinery

OR – United Airlines Ventures’ (UAV) investment in Houston-based Next Renewable Fuels will support a so-called flagship biofuel refinery in Port Westward, Oregon, production at which Next expects to begin in 2026. Next expects the biorefinery to produce up to 50,000 barrels of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, and other renewable fuels per day.

“Right now, one of the biggest barriers to increasing supply and lowering costs of sustainable fuel is that we don’t have the infrastructure in place to transport it efficiently, but Next’s strategic location and assets solve that problem and provide a blueprint for future facilities that need to be built,” said United Airlines Ventures president Michael Leskinen. “We believe this investment will bolster Next’s ambitions and create near-term solutions to expand our SAF supply and further demonstrate our commitment toward producing SAF at the scale necessary to decarbonize the aviation industry.”

Next’s biorefinery benefits from access to a deep-water port, an existing industrial-grade dock, and multi-modal logistics options, allowing access to feedstock options and fast-growth SAF offtake markets on the West Coast. In addition, next has secured an agreement with BP for sourcing 100 percent of its feedstock, further de-risking supply challenges smaller facilities have historically faced. Next also has received what it calls a crucial air permit from Oregon. Once Next obtains all the needed approvals and permits and begins to operate the biorefinery, it can use it as a platform to scale SAF and deploy other future technologies.

The proposed SAF tax credit requires a minimum 50% reduction in lifecycle GHG emissions and offers an increased incentive for more significant reductions. The Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are to support SAF producers through the new Grand Challenge initiative to work with stakeholders to reduce costs, enhance sustainability and expand production and use of SAF that meets the 50% lifecycle reduction. In addition to the 2030 goal, the target is to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand with SAF by 2050, which is currently projected to be around 35 billion gallons per year. In a series of actions to be taken: