Story ID: 
NetJets Buys Share in Sustainable Fuel Company
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Fractional aircraft provider NetJets has purchased a stake in WasteFuel, a company that aims to convert landfill waste into sustainable aviation fuel.
Word Count: 301
In an effort to bolster the sustainable fuel industry, fractional aircraft provider NetJets has purchased a stake in WasteFuel, a company that aims to convert landfill waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). WasteFuel is currently developing a plant in the Philippines that is scheduled to begin production by 2025, with a full capacity to convert one million tons of municipal waste into 30 million gallons of SAF a year.

In addition to acquiring a 20 percent share in the company, NetJets will also commit to purchasing 100 million gallons of WasteFuel-produced SAF over the next decade. That fuel will be delivered to Los Angeles and distributed throughout the NetJets network.

Based on its “next-generation” production technology, WasteFuel's SAF is said to provide an 80 percent lifecycle reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional jet-A while reducing landfill waste, which accounts globally for the third-largest source of methane produced by human activity. A potent greenhouse gas, methane is many times more damaging than CO2 when it comes to global warming. Urban areas such as Manila produces as much as 10,000 tons of solid waste a day, which could be used as feedstock for the fuel.

“As the leader in private aviation, NetJets is deeply invested in advancing sustainability across the industry,” said Brad Ferrell, executive v-p for administrative services for the company which lists more than 750 aircraft in its fleet. “The biorefinery tackles the dual environmental problems of the global waste crisis and sustainable fuel, and we’re excited to take this step toward improving accessibility to SAF in the aviation industry.”

The news comes on the heels of the introduction of NetJets' expanded global sustainability program last October. Once the Manila facility is up and running, WasteFuel has plans to establish four additional sustainable fuel production facilities.