Boeing Promotes Aviation Biofuel in Africa

by Kaleyesus Bekele (AIN Online) The Boeing Company has teamed with the South African government, South African Airways (SAA), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and U.S. energy firm SKYNRG, to identify biofuel feed stocks in Africa. Boeing Commercial Airplanes regional director for environmental strategy Elizabeth Wood announced the initiative during the Africa Aviation Biofuel Summit on March 20 in Addis Ababa, where the partners deliberated with Ethiopian government officials on the use of sustainable aviation fuel. Separately, RSB signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum, and Natural Gas calling for collaboration on biofuel research and development.

Wood highlighted the use of tobacco plants grown in the Marble Hall region in Limpopo, South Africa, in the production of aviation biofuel. Not only does the project afford environmental benefits, but it also creates job opportunities for local communities. “If we want to produce aviation biofuel it has to be from local sources,” she said.

Tjasa Bole-Rentel, energy economics and policy specialist at WWF South Africa, said that Africa has become one of the world’s major growth areas for aviation biofuel feedstock. According to Bole-Rentel, some 550 million hectares of land lies potentially available for production of biofuel feed stock in Africa. Refiners can produce aviation biofuel from miscanthus (silvergrass), palm oil, jatropha plants, and biomass, among others sources. READ MORE