oneworld airlines launch $150M Bill Gates-backed fund to advance SAF development
Global airline alliance oneworld and its member airlines, along with Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), have introduced a new $150 million fund aimed to address the limited availability and high cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
In a statement, released on September 17, 2025, the airline alliance said Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) would serve as the fund’s capital investment manager.
The fund is also supported by oneworld alliance member airlines such as International Airlines Group (IAG), Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines. Both oneworld and Breakthrough Energy Ventures have also decided to include non-alliance investors, like Singapore Airlines.
According to the alliance, the oneworld BEV Fund “seeks to accelerate the global development of long-term aviation fuel solutions that are cost effective, scalable, and have lower emissions than conventional fuels.”
“By working together, we’ll be better positioned to create long-term solutions for the energy transformation of an industry that is vital to global economic growth,” said Nat Pieper, CEO of oneworld.
SAF industry lacks investment
Lee Wen Fen, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Singapore Airlines, said that the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry has not yet drawn the necessary investments to increase production at competitive prices that align with market demands, which is the focus of oneworld and its partners.
The global aviation sector generates approximately $4.1 trillion in economic activity and supports 86.5 million jobs. It currently contributes roughly 2-3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.
“The oneworld BEV Fund is built to identify and scale breakthrough SAF technologies that can deliver real emissions reductions for jet fuel, compete with fossil-based fuels on cost, and integrate seamlessly with today’s aviation infrastructure,” said Eric Toone, Chief Technology Officer at Breakthrough Energy and Managing Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Toone acknowledged that these are complex systems-level challenges that will “take time to solve”, but said the fund is built with the long-term vision to bring solutions to the market. The post oneworld airlines launch $150M Bill Gates-backed fund to advance SAF development appeared first on AeroTime.
Global airline alliance oneworld and its member airlines, along with Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), have introduced…
The post oneworld airlines launch $150M Bill Gates-backed fund to advance SAF development appeared first on AeroTime.
