British Airways parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) will invest up to €200m (£168.1m) in tech startups through a new venture capital arm.
IAGi Ventures will look to back tech innovations that can support the aviation industry, from sustainable fuels to airport operations support.
“Adopting new technologies will improve our business and the value we generate, which is why we are seeking to work with and learn from top innovators through venturing,” said Jorge Saco, IAG’s chief information, procurement, services and innovation officer.
“By launching venturing, alongside our accelerator programme, we plan to work with the best start-ups and scale-ups tackling today’s challenges.”
The VC arm of the group will operate in partnership with IAG’s existing accelerator programme Hangar 51, launched in 2016. Hangar 51 will be rebranded as IAGi Accelerator.
Previous tech investments made by IAG include Assaia, which uses AI to optimise airport and airline operations; i6, a digital fuel management system provider and LanzaJet, which is developing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for commercial use in the UK.
The aviation sector is under pressure to reduce the environmental impact of its business, which accounts for around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions.
SAF is seen by many as a way for consumers and businesses to have their environmental cake and eat it, allowing flights to continue as normal with clean fuel. Critics have pointed out that sources the raw ingredients – essentially crops – could lead to deforestation, biodiversity loss and, ironically, increased pollution.
Headquartered in London and Madrid, the Anglo-Spanish aviation giant owns BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling among others.
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