Progress on Alternative Jet Fuels “Stunning”, Says Aviation Industry, but Commercialization Is Now the Major Challenge
(GreenAirOnline) Environmental executives from Boeing, Airbus and IATA lined up at the recent Farnborough Air Show to proclaim rapid progress in the development of alternative sustainable jet fuels but warned of the challenges ahead in bringing them to commercial scale. Producers and end users came together during the show to put on a series of briefing sessions on biofuel developments. “Stunning is the only word I can use to describe how much progress has been made in the last three years,” said Paul Steele, IATA’s Director of Aviation Environment and head of the industry colaition Air Transport Action Group. “We have seen a huge amount of activity in driving this forward. Certification has been the prime focus to begin with because safety is a key issue. We believe commercial biofuel flights are now three to five years away – some may say sooner than that.”
Billy Glover, Boeing Commercial Airplane’s Managing Director for Environmental Strategy, said the common wisdom just five years ago was that biofuels for commercial aviation were impossible.
“Now we have got through most of the technical barriers and fuel standards are in place for up to 50% blends of drop-in Hydrotreated Renewable Jet (HRJ) fuels,” he told journalists at the air show. “We have a lot of sustainability accreditation work going on and commitments from airlines for off-take agreements. We are really ahead of where anybody could have predicted.” READ MORE
Related posts:
- Aviation and Alternative Fuels November 16-18 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- PARTNER Publishes First Comprehensive Study into Comparing Life-Cycle GHG Emissions of Aviation Alternative Fuels
- Air Transport Association/Defense Energy Support Center Announce Strategic Alliance for Alternative Aviation Fuels
- Aviation Industry Harnesses Algae for Biofuel
- The European Directive to Include Aviation in the European CO2 Emission Trading Scheme, Consequences and Strategic Options for the Aviation Industry
