Infinium’s Project Atlas Selected for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply

This article is based on an official press release from Infinium.

In a significant step for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market, Infinium and the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) have announced that Infinium’s Project Atlas was selected to supply SAF certificates under SABA’s next-generation procurement initiative. According to the official press release, the proposal was submitted jointly with American Airlines, which will take delivery of the physical fuel and manage logistics.

The agreement aims to accelerate the deployment of high-integrity, next-generation fuel pathways by converting corporate demand into long-term, bankable supply agreements. By securing these offtake contracts, developers like Infinium can better support project financing and scale their operations to meet the aviation industry’s growing decarbonization targets.

Project Atlas and eSAF Production Targets

Project Atlas is an electrofuel (eSAF) development project by Infinium Energy. The company stated in its release that the facility has a planned capacity of approximately 100,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA) and targets a 95 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to traditional fossil jet fuel. This new facility builds upon the company’s previous commercial deployment efforts, specifically Project Pathfinder in Corpus Christi and Project Roadrunner in Pecos.

In addition to supplying SABA’s corporate buyers, Infinium noted that Project Atlas will produce EU-compliant RFNBO (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) eSAF. This positions the project to serve the European market, where the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation mandates a 2 percent SAF blending requirement that began in 2025, scaling up to 20 percent by 2035. A dedicated sub-mandate for synthetic eSAF is also slated to take effect in 2030.

“Being selected for this SABA offtake agreement is pivotal for Project Atlas,” said Robert Schuetzle, CEO of Infinium, in the press release. “The agreement reflects growing commercial demand for next-generation power-to-liquid fuels and supports the continued development of new domestic production capacity.”

The “Book and Claim” Model

SABA’s procurement strategy relies on a “book and claim” model. According to the announcement, corporate customers purchase sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc) to invest in SAF and claim the associated environmental benefits against their Scope 3 emissions. Meanwhile, the physical fuel is delivered to an aircraft operator, in this case, American Airlines.

American Airlines will serve as the physical user of the eSAF, marking its second eSAF agreement with Infinium. The airline’s participation enables the allocation of emissions reductions to SABA’s corporate members without requiring the fuel to be loaded onto the specific flights those corporate employees take.

“We believe voluntary corporate demand can be a catalytic spark to help new SAF production facilities get off the ground,” said Kim Carnahan, CEO of the Center for Green Market Activation and head of the SABA secretariat, in the company statement.

Jill Blickstein, Vice President of Sustainability at American Airlines, added in the release that working with Infinium helps accelerate the development of SAF technologies that have the potential to reach commercial scale at lower prices.

AirPro News analysis

We note that the selection of Project Atlas highlights a critical mechanism in the modern SAF economy: decoupling the environmental attributes of sustainable fuels from their physical delivery. For power-to-liquid eSAF pathways, which are highly scalable but currently capital-intensive, securing long-term, binding offtake agreements is often the final hurdle before reaching a Final Investment Decision (FID).

By aggregating corporate demand through SABA, which launched this specific procurement round in May 2025, buyers provide the financial certainty needed to build new plants. With initial production at Project Atlas expected by 2029, this deal underscores how corporate sustainability budgets are increasingly being leveraged to underwrite the physical infrastructure required for aviation’s energy transition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is eSAF?

Electro-sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) is a type of synthetic fuel produced using renewable energy and captured carbon dioxide. Infinium’s process converts waste CO₂ and renewable power into a drop-in aviation fuel that is compatible with existing aircraft engines and fueling infrastructure.

How does the book and claim system work for SAF?

The book and claim system allows companies to purchase the environmental benefits of SAF (the “claim”) via certificates, even if the physical fuel (the “book”) is used by a different operator. This enables corporate buyers to reduce their reported climate emissions while funding the production of sustainable fuels.

Sources

• Infinium