Planes across Europe to Start Running on Vegetable Oil and Animal Fat in Bid to Tackle Climate Change and Toxic Air

November 01, 2017

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by Ben Chapman (Independent) With long-distance electric-powered transport still a long way off, can advances in renewable fuel made from vegetable oil and waste fill the gap to combat climate change and clean up our toxic air?

Planes across Europe will soon run on renewable fuel made from vegetable oil and animal fat in a bid to tackle climate change and toxic air.

The new fuel will pour into planes mixed with traditional kerosene at Geneva Airport from next year but the millions of passengers travelling through the busy hub each year won’t notice the difference. The planes will run just as smoothly and engine performance is even slightly improved, says Matti Lievonen, the boss of Neste, the Finnish company that’s supplying the fuel.

He hopes that the deal will act as a blueprint that can be rolled out all over the world and says Neste has spoken with ten hub airports about implementing similar arrangements, including two of Europe’s busiest - Schiphol and Heathrow.

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Neste’s renewable diesel comes in a number of forms, which can be used in any traditional diesel engine, meaning it can also make a contribution to cutting the air pollution choking many cities around the world and killing millions of people.

Diesel cars have taken much of the flak for the toxic air blighting many cities after revelations that car makers spent years duping the public into thinking they were pumping out far lower levels of pollutants than they actually were.

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The Finnish company’s fuel pumps out much less of the harmful pollutants associated with fossil diesel - up to 40 per cent less particulate matter and 10 per cent less NOx. When used in its purest form it also produces up to 90 per cent less carbon emissions.

Renewable diesel is fundamentally different from most other fuel produced with waste fat or vegetable oils, known as biodiesel.

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While biodiesel can only be mixed with normal fuel up to a certain percentage before engines and infrastructure have to be modified, renewable diesel can simply be “dropped in”, meaning it can potentially play a greater role in making existing fleets of vehicles more friendly to the planet.

Thanks to heavy investment in research and development, Lievonen says Neste can now make viable fuel from waste fat that would have been unusable a few years ago, allowing it to ramp up production massively.

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Some of the key inputs are pig, beef and poultry fat which is collected from slaughterhouses and then rendered down. Fish fat from farms in Southeast Asia makes its way to the company’s processing plant in Singapore. Vegetable oil byproducts from industrial food production as well as used cooking oil from restaurants are collected, with the whole mix then refined into a clear, clean-burning liquid.

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But heavy-duty vehicles, such as lorries and buses, as well as shipping and aviation, are responsible for greater proportions of both diesel consumption and CO2 emissions around the world than passenger cars.

In London, for example, the Mayor’s figures show that cars account for 11 per cent of NOx emissions, while rail transport and lorries belched out almost a quarter. In certain busy areas, buses contribute far more to poor air quality than cars do.

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These vehicles have diesel, rather than petrol engines, because the former are seen as more durable and can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank.

Batteries that can reliably shift heavy loads over such distances at an economical cost, do not yet exist, and – even at the current rapid pace of technological advancement – appear unlikely to replace diesel any time soon. READ MORE

The pond scum that could fuel jet planes (The Hindu)

Virgin Australia and Gevo to Supply Biofuel at Brisbane Airport (Renewable Energy Magazine)

Why the time is right for aviation biofuels to take off (GreenBiz)

Excerpt from GreenBiz: Sustainable aviation fuels are a disruptive technology, and disruptive technologies aren’t always overnight successes. It took 50 years for wind and solar to become cost-competitive with fossil fuel–based energy. Certainly, we don’t anticipate the same wait for aviation biofuels to approach cost parity with conventional jet fuel. However, it’s typical for setbacks to accompany the disruption of an incumbent system, especially a disruption involving an energy transition.

That’s why over the past few years, like any new technology, we’ve seen some high-profile failures. ... Importantly, aviation biofuels compete against the commodity Jet A fuel — fortified by entrenched lobby groups, supportive policies and subsidies and economies of scale. So it’s not surprising that there have been challenges.

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The International Civil Aviation Organization has committed to carbon-neutral growth from 2020 (largely through the purchase of carbon offsets), while groups such as Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative work with industry stakeholders to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation biofuels.

The California Air Resources Board is in the process of including alternative jet fuels under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, generating financial incentives for producers. British Columbia and Oregon have issued low-carbon fuel requirements that include sustainable aviation fuel; other U.S. states are considering adopting similar laws. The European Union is actively exploring new sustainable aviation fuel subsidies. Never before has there been so much momentum.

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Air BP is supplying commercial jet biofuel at Halmstad Airport in Sweden. Red Rock Biofuels secured financing and offtake agreements with FedEx Express and Southwest Airlines for 3 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year between 2017 and 2024. Virgin Australia is working with Gevo and Brisbane Airport to establish routine delivery of sustainable aviation fuel to that city. United Airlines has invested directly in Fulcrum to supply up to 90 million gallons of fuel derived from municipal waste feedstock annually. JetBlue has signed a 10-year agreement with SG Preston to obtain over 300 million gallons of biofuel. Amyris is supplying Airbus with sustainable aviation fuel for aircraft deliveries departing from Toulouse, France.

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There are five industry-vetted conversion technologies and many more on the near horizon. Over 1 billion gallons are potentially available with another billion pending certification. Sustainable aviation fuel is poised for both growth and success.

The confluence of these developments forges a new paradigm in the aviation biofuel industry. Widespread political will, ever-growing demand and technology improvements continue to catalyze growth. READ MORE

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Aviation Fuel/Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) air pollution control animal fat Australia BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production British Columbia buses California Canada environmental policy European Union (EU) Finland fish oil Fleets France Investing Japan Jetfuel (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)) LCFS (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) markets/sales Netherlands NOx (nitrogen oxides) Oregon Renewable Diesel/Green Diesel/HVO/Paraffinic Diesel shipping Sustainability Sweden Switzerland tallow Transportation Fuels Policy trucks UK (United Kingdom) United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) vegetable oils waste-to-fuel

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