China’s poisonous jatropha shrub is showing promise as biofuel and could boost the country’s efforts to reduce dependency on imported crude oil.
In the past, farmers planted the poisonous perennial only as a barrier to ward …

by Niall O’Keeffe  (FlightGlobal)  Both of the major commercial airframers have joined forces with industry peers to pursue new biofuel research initiatives, reflecting an intensification of concern about future availability of alternative fuels in the …

(EurActiv.com)  Industry is on track to ensure “carbon-neutral growth” in the aviation sector from 2020, but strengthened European Union support for research and development (R&D) is vital to help manufacturers deliver the green technologies required, …

(GreenAirOnline.com)  Although not commercially viable yet, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) offers a strong financial, as well as environmental, incentive for the adoption of jet biofuels, says a new report by EQ2. Based …

by  Gerard Wynn  (Reuters)   British Airways will start sourcing a small portion of its jet fuel from municipal waste from 2014, under a deal with U.S.-based biofuel company Solena Group, the two companies announced on …

by Suzanne Goldenberg  (The Guardian)   The brains trust of the Pentagon says it is just months away from producing a jet fuel from algae for the same cost as its fossil-fuel equivalent.
The claim, which comes …

Rentech, Inc.  and ClearFuels Technology Inc., jointly announced that their project to construct a biomass gasifier at Rentech’s Energy Technology Center (”RETC”) in Denver has been awarded a conditional $22.6 million grant from the U.S. …

(Queensland Business Review)  The University of Queensland (UQ) has entered into a new agreement with an American alternative energy company to turn Queensland sugar cane into jet biofuel.
Researchers from UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering & …

by Naill O’Keefe (FlightGlobal) 
The International Air Transport Association has criticised the oil industry and national governments for failing to invest in the development of aviation biofuel.
Explaining why he is “disappointed” with the lack of government action, …

by Michael Kannellos (GreenTechMedia)  Take marginal land, fish waste and a plant that’s not currently cultivated for human purposes and what do you get? Hopefully jet fuel.
The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Honeywell UOP, …

by Geoffrey Thomas (Eco-Aviation Today) US Air Transport Assn. American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines initiated a legal challenge in the UK High Court of Justice against aviation’s inclusion in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Camelina has been much in the news of late, as a biofuels feedstock of strong promise, because of its position as one of the few “sustainable, affordable, reliable, available” feedstocks suitable …

by Jeffrey Decker (FlightGlobal)  Interview with Richard Altman, executive director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, working closely with aviation’s private and public sectors in a bid to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020  …
Are …

(GreenAirOnline.com)  Under business-as-usual (BAU) forecasts, CO2 emissions from global aviation are estimated to grow 3.1% per year over the next 40 years, resulting in a 300% increase in emissions by 2050 compared to 2007. However, …

(GreenAirOnline.com) A major study to investigate the technical and financial feasibility of a biorefinery plant to supply Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport with 50,000 tonnes of jet biofuel per year has been completed. The project was initiated …

by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest)  As industry and governments enter a new decade and contemplate the outcome of the December, 2009 Copenhagen treaty, the ‘big picture’ on biofuels continues to get lost in the rhetoric …

Boeing, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Etihad Airways and Honeywell’s UOP announced an agreement to establish a major research institution and demonstration project in Abu Dhabi dedicated to sustainable energy solutions. The Sustainable …

by Megan Kuhn (Flightglobal)  Four companies with biorefinery projects targeting alternative jet fuel production will receive grant money totalling up to $100 million from the US Energy Department.
Honeywell subsidiary UOP, algae-based fuel developer Sapphire Energy, …

Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) and Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced today that they will jointly carry out engineering, economic analysis and move into the development of sustainable bio jet fuel that will …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … The search for cheap sugars … affects almost every company working on the ethanol platform (really, everyone there except the gasification technologies such as Coskata). It also impacts those like LS9, …

by Elizabeth Rosenthal (New York Times)  In 2002 Responsible Travel became one of the first travel companies to offer customers the option of buying so-called carbon offsets to counter the planet-warming emissions generated by their …

Embraer, General Electric, and Amyris announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate thetechnical and sustainability aspects of Amyris’ No Compromise® renewable jet fuel. The initiative can culminate in a demo flight, by early …

by Vadim Bespertov, et al. 
This document is the production of a team of aviation and aerospace industry experts who have joined efforts and know-how for a 4 month strategic planning & research exercise as …

by Amy Lorentzen  (AP)  A central Iowa plant could soon begin producing jet fuel from poultry fat.  Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Elevance Renewable Sciences plans to build a $15 million plant in Newton, adding onto an existing …

The Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, announced that a core group of airlines has signed groundbreaking memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with two different producers …

Rentech, Inc., and ClearFuels Technology Inc. (ClearFuels) jointly announced that they have been selected to receive up to $23 million as a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) to construct a biomass gasifier …

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today operated its first ever passenger flight powered by sustainable biokerosene. To give an extra impulse to sustainable air transport, KLM today also joined hands with North Sea Petroleum and Spring …

by Mary Grady (AVWeb)  Embraer and General Electric will flight-test a renewable jet fuel by early 2012, the companies said. They plan to use a renewable biofuel made from sugar cane, developed by Amyris Biotechnologies, …

(AFP)  Alternative fuels could power 15 percent of global air traffic by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030, European aircraft-maker Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow on Tuesday.  “If we get the right sources, it …

by Mark Barkoviak  (Daily Tech)  The United States Air Force hopes to conduct research related to alternative fuels that could one day help the military transition away from gasoline.  The $2.5 million Assured Aerospace Fuels …

(GreenairOnline.com)  KLM has announced that it will conduct a demonstration flight on November 23 in which one of the four engines of a Boeing 747 will be powered by a blended mixture of 50 percent …

by Sukhpreet Manchanda (TopNews)   Dutch KLM will be the first airline to fly a passenger flight using bio-diesel.  The Boeing 747 flight, carrying a limited number of passengers, will take off on November 23 using …

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced today that it signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) under which the two companies will collaborate on a range of biofuels technologies and projects …

The Conference is intended to be a major event showcasing the state of the art in aviation alternative fuels, and an event at which a road map for the implementation of aviation alternative fuels will …

Boeing [NYSE: BA], the Airports and Auxiliary Services agency (ASA), an arm of Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transport, and Honeywell’s UOP today announced a collaboration to identify, research and further the development of a …

by Andrew C. Revkin (New York Times)   …   By 2020, he hopes that  fuel for his companies’ jet fleets will be derived from algae or consist of  isobutanol, derived from sugars. The advantage of isobutanol, …

by Bettina H. Chavanne  (Aviation Week)  …  (U.S. Navy Secretary Ray) Mabus also introduced the idea of a Great Green Fleet, a green strike group comprising nuclear vessels, surface combatants equipped with hybrid electric systems …

(CCTV) After producing aircraft components for Boeing for more than two decades, China is expected to become the US airplane manufacturer’s research and development (R&D) partner for environmentally friendly technologies that will make the aviation industry …

by  Geoffrey Thomas (Eco-Aviation Today) In one of the hardest-hitting speeches in recent times, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe lashed out at the “inconvenient truth” that the world’s leaders, regulators and airlines are continuing to …

 by Adrian Schofield (Aviation Week)  ICAO members have reached agreement on a set of environmental targets for the aviation sector, although it is setting higher fuel efficiency standards than industry was proposing.  After a high-level …

(GreenAirOnline.com)  Glenn Tilton, Chairman of both United Airlines and the Air Transport Association of America, called on government, investors and producers to seize the opportunity to provide the airline industry with alternative fuels. Speaking at …

Boeing announced it is joining with Honeywell’s UOP to commission a study on the sustainability of a leading family of saltwater-based plant candidates for renewable jet fuel. The study is being commissioned as part of …

(Reuters)  U.S. commercial airlines and military aircraft would make a strong long-term market for alternatives to jet fuel, said Glenn Tilton, the chief executive officer of UAL Corp and its United Airlines unit.  Speaking at …

On September 10, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about the national security threats posed by our reliance on fossil fuels and efforts underway by the U.S. armed services to reduce …

Sustainable Oils, a producer of renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value camelina-based fuels, announced today it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) for 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet fuel. The …

(GreenAirOnline.com)  The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota has been awarded a subcontract by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to help produce military JP-8 jet fuel from algae. Funding …

Renewable jet propellant-8 (JP-8) fuel developed and produced by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota was successfully flown in a rocket built by Flometrics, Inc., a product engineering …

by William Garvey (Business and Commercial Aviation/Aviation Week)  Manufacturers of piston-engine aircraft and powerplant makers are showing interest in an experimental, non-petroleum biofuel that could possibly serve as a “drop-in” replacement for leaded avgas.  Swift …

by Brian Allen  (KSFY Action News) One of the stunt flying teams you’ll see at this weekend’s Sioux Falls Airshow is based out of Tea.  The “Vanguard Squardon” fly just feet apart from each other …

The latest research note from the UK’s Policy Exchange recommends that bio-jet fuels should become a priority for the aviation industry; that they represent the only viable option for significantly reducing emissions from aviation without cutting the number …