[...] it also gives the sprawling airline a way to cut its sizeable greenhouse gas emissions, should the federal government require it. “This agreement catapults United into a whole new level of commitment to the future of alternative fuels,” said Brett Hart, the airline’s executive vice president and corporate counsel. In return, Fulcrum gets another major partner to help the small company leap the infamous “valley of death” between product development and full-scale production. Cathay Pacific Airways invested an undisclosed sum in the company last year and signed a purchase agreement to buy 375 million gallons of Fulcrum’s fuel over 10 years. After honing its technology at a pilot plant in North Carolina, Fulcrum is about to break ground on its first commercial facility 20 miles east of Reno. The $200 million plant, backed by a $105 million loan guarantee from the U.S.