Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking joins United Airlines as corporate partner with investments in expansion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

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Feb 14, 2024, 10:01 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) today announced its investment in the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund^SM - the first of its kind venture fund focused on funding startups dedicated to scaleup of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production through advancing technology and sustainable feedstock development. Natixis CIB joins a group of 22 investors consisting of industry leaders across the aviation value chain including OEMs, airlines, fuel producers, technology and engineering specialists, banks, aircraft lessors and travel management.

"Our commitment to sustainability and decarbonization, and deep expertise and presence in both Aviation and Energy Transition sectors position Natixis CIB particularly well to support SAF development and partner with United and other investors in supporting the Fund's portfolio companies in their quest to decarbonize aviation," said Mohamed Kallala, Global Head of Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking.

"We are proud to be a part of this endeavor," said Yevgeniya Levitin, Managing Director and Head of Aviation Americas at Natixis CIB. "SAF has emerged as the most effective large-scale solution for decarbonizing aviation industry, and the demand for it, fueled by net zero objectives and strong traffic growth, outstrips supply by a huge factor. Natixis CIB is fully aligned with United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund's approach to addressing the bottlenecks to scaling up production and advancing SAF enabling technologies."

SAF is a "drop-in" fuel that is chemically equivalent to conventional jet fuel but is produced from non-petroleum-based renewable feedstock, resulting in significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis.

"SAF is the best tool we have to decarbonize airplanes, but we don't have enough of it. To create the fuel supply we need for our fleet, United recognized that we would have to help build a brand-new industry from scratch – like wind and solar in previous decades," said Andrew Chang, Managing Director of United Airlines Ventures. "As part of our effort to build a new sustainable aviation ecosystem, we recruited a group of partners with the industry expertise to support our startups with both financial and strategic capital, to help them navigate the entire process from conception to commercialization."

About Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking
Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking is a leading global financial institution that provides advisory, investment banking, financing, corporate banking and capital markets services to corporations, financial institutions, financial sponsors and sovereign and supranational organizations worldwide.

Our teams of experts in about 30 countries advise clients on their strategic development, helping them to grow and transform their businesses, and maximize their positive impact. Natixis CIB is committed to aligning its financing portfolio with a carbon neutrality path by 2050 while helping its clients reduce the environmental impact of their business.

As part of the Global Financial Services division of Groupe BPCE, the second largest banking group in France through the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne retail networks, Natixis CIB benefits from the Group's financial strength and solid financial ratings (Standard & Poor's: A, Moody's: A1, Fitch: A+, R&I: A+).

About UAV Sustainable Flight Fund
The UAV Sustainable Flight Fund^SM is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to leverage support from cross-industry businesses in order to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel through SAF research, technology and production. The fund is comprised of more than $200 million in investment commitments from United and corporate partners including: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mizuho Leasing Company), American Express Global Business Travel, Aviation Capital Group, Boeing, Boston Consulting Group, Embraer, GE Aerospace, Google, Groupe ADP, Hawaiian Airlines, HIS, Honeywell, JetBlue Ventures, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies, among others. For more information about the fund, please visit the United Airlines Ventures website.

About United
At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers, and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

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