Qantas & Airbus invest AUD $15m in climate tech fund

Qantas and Airbus have announced a joint investment of AUD $15 million into the venture capital fund Climate Tech Partners (CTP) to aid in the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and decarbonisation technologies.

This financial commitment by the two aviation giants is intended to support emerging start-ups in both local and global markets concentrating on sustainable aviation fuels and technologies within the aviation industry. Investments will be channelled through a dedicated vehicle aligned with CTP's overarching fund, focusing on the production and feedstock development for SAF as well as other value-chain innovations.

The collaboration aims to bridge the gap identified by Qantas and Airbus between early-stage climate technologies and their commercial scalability in Australia. CTP, known for working with corporate partners to tailor technology solutions specific to aviation needs, will manage these investments.

Airbus Chief Sustainability Officer Julie Kitcher expressed the need for cooperative measures across various sectors including airlines, manufacturers, and regulators for aviation decarbonisation. "This partnership with CTP and Qantas highlights that the scaling of Sustainable Aviation Fuel needs innovative solutions for a nascent technology that will drive innovation, attract investment and create new jobs in Australia, which I believe is well positioned to be a leader in low carbon fuels. At Airbus, we are honoured to be partnering with Qantas and now CTP to transform aviation for the long term," she stated.

Fiona Messent, Qantas Group Chief Sustainability Officer, underscored the importance of SAF in reducing aviation emissions and highlighted the investment as a strategic move to improve its availability and accessibility. "Sustainable aviation fuel is the most effective tool we have to decarbonise aviation and, with Airbus, we're investing significantly in ways to make it more available and accessible. As well as funding, this partnership will help provide a vote of confidence in new technologies so they can be developed, scaled and integrated in the SAF supply chain, while also providing companies with access to Qantas and Airbus as they develop and test their solutions," she commented.

CTP's Co-Founder, Patrick Sieb, highlighted the advantages of aligning with leading firms in the aviation and aerospace sectors. "Working with global leading aviation and aerospace companies allows us to not only make more deeply informed investment decisions in this complex area but attract and support the best companies by helping them accelerate through industry engagement," he remarked.

Established initially through a USD $200 million partnership in 2022, Qantas and Airbus' alliance aims to expedite SAF production. Through the partnership with CTP, they will make strategic investments in noteworthy start-ups and potentially pursue further investments as technologies mature.

Climate Tech Partners specialises in investing primarily in Series A stage technology solutions that have scalability potential, focusing on sectors such as Energy & Power, Transport & Logistics, and Industrials & Resources. By working with partners like Qantas and Airbus, CTP facilitates the accelerated commercialisation of impactful climate innovations.