02:00 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Conestoga Energy release in the first paragraph, additional details in third paragraph.)

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) sold its renewable fuels unit Saffire Renewables to Conestoga Energy as the carrier scales back climate-related initiatives, the renewable fuels producer reported Thursday.

The purchase from Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures includes all intellectual property and related technologies as well as key leadership team members and a proposed pilot facility in Kansas to produce sustainable aviation fuel, Conestoga Energy said.

Along with intellectual property and existing technologies, Conestoga Energy said Chief Technology Officer Marykate O'Brien, Director of Engineering Nitin Kolhapure and other employees will be joining the company as part of the deal. The energy plant in Kansas is slated to be operating in 2026, it added.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Conestoga is well-positioned to advance Saffire Renewables' work on producing ultra-low carbon intensity ethanol at its Arkalon Energy facility in Kansas, a Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) spokesperson told MT Newswires.

Southwest ( LUV ) is encouraged by the progress of the technology, which could support the broader sustainable aviation fuel ecosystem and the industry's carbon reduction goals, the spokesperson added, noting that it helped develop Saffire's early-stage work before it moves toward commercialization.

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