“This project is a landmark achievement for the development of sustainable aviation fuels and the offtake agreement provides a model for the entire aviation industry of one way to effect change and support the scale-up of capital-intensive projects. Infinium’s technological and commercial maturity, coupled with the company’s project development expertise, will help accelerate the clean energy transition by quickly bringing to market clean fuels for aviation, trucking, and other long-distance parts of the transportation sector. American’s creativity, commitment and collaboration with Citi, have set a new marker, demonstrating what it takes to usher in a climate-friendly aviation future.”
— Mario Fernandez, Head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
THE OPPORTUNITY
American Airlines has a target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and the company’s strategy to decarbonize its operations relies on the development of technologies that are not in production today at scale, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Today, the market for SAF is nascent, and it is limited to bio-based feedstocks such as waste fats and oils. For the aviation industry to reduce its GHG emissions, the SAF market needs to grow quickly and innovate to include new types of feedstocks and processes.
Power-to-Liquids (PtL) eFuels have been projected to make up as much as 57 percent of total SAF by 2050. To help scale the market for these new kinds of SAF, American joined Breakthrough Energy Catalyst as an anchor partner to accelerate the commercialization of the clean energy technologies of the future. Catalyst funds and invests in first-of-a-kind projects that support the deployment of emerging climate technologies to reduce emissions and accelerate the clean energy transition.
THE SOLUTION
In November 2023, Catalyst announced a $75 million project equity investment commitment to support Infinium’s Project Roadrunner, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. Project Roadrunner will convert waste carbon dioxide (CO2) and renewable power into SAF and other low-carbon fuels. This first-of-a-kind commercial-scale PtL eFuels facility is expected to be the largest PtL eFuels project in North America once operational. The commitment represents Catalyst’s first-ever equity investment.
Project Roadrunner, located in West Texas, will turn an existing brownfield gas-to-liquids project into a fully integrated eFuels facility that will deliver products into both U.S. and international markets. It will primarily produce Infinium eSAF to reduce lifecycle GHG emissions in aviation by around 90 percent, which is higher than the emissions reductions achieved using SAF on the market today.
THE RESULTS
In tandem with Catalyst’s investment in Infinium, American and Infinium entered into an offtake agreement for Infinium eSAF. American’s offtake agreement is important because key terms – the tenure and fixed price – help unlock Catalyst’s investment in Project Roadrunner. Catalyst worked to develop the agreement alongside the American and Infinium teams. The agreement provides one model for how airlines can use offtake agreements to help promising new SAF technologies attract investment dollars.
In further support of this offtake agreement, Citi and American separately agreed to transfer the Scope 3 emission reductions from the PtL SAF to Citi to support the scaling of this innovative technology and help reduce Citi’s Scope 3 emissions from employee travel. Citi is also a partner of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.