Solazyme's algae jet fuel powers first United flight
United Airlines fueled a flight from Houston to Chicago on Monday with renewable algae fuel produced by South San Francisco-based Solazyme.
Solazyme uses micro-algae as a catalyst to convert renewable materials into many things, including skin care products, foods and renewable chemicals. This is the first commercial airline to fly a plane using Solazyme’s algae-derived jet fuel.
Solazyme’s jet fuel made up 40 percent of the Eco-skies Boeing 737-800 fuel capacity. The other 60 percent was petroleum-derived jet fuel used in most aircraft.
Solazyme signed a letter of intent to supply 20 million gallons a year of its renewable jet fuel to United starting in 2014.
While generally not binding, letters of intent for large commercial supply agreements can be very useful in raising funding. Solazyme said it aims to produce 500,000 metric tons of renewable oil by 2015, but it has not said where it will produce that fuel.
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