Air France has flown an Airbus A321 passenger aircraft from Toulouse to Paris Orly airport (354 miles) with a fuel mix comprising 50% used cooking oil in both engines. They claim this was the “greenest” ever, due to the low carbon fuel, and due to helpful air traffic control and continuous descent approach (CDA) the plane flew the shortest available route. All this may have cut CO2 emissions to 54 grams per passenger per kilometre, about half the usual level.
Air France SA today flew an Airbus A321 passenger aircraft from Toulouse to Paris’s Orly airport with a fuel mix comprising 50 percent used cooking oil.
The 80-minute, 354-mile (570-kilometer) journey was the world’s greenest commercial flight, Toulouse, France-based Airbus said today in an e-mailed statement.
Besides using biofuel, the plane, which can carry more than 200 passengers, flew the shortest available route using a more- efficient continuous descent approach, Airbus said. That helped cut in half the overall emissions of carbon dioxide, according to the statement.
Airlines on July 1 won approval from ASTM International, the U.S. technical standards body, to fly passenger planes using fuel made from inedible plants and organic waste mixed with petroleum-derived fuel. Approval allows for blends of up to 50 percent biofuel. Since then, airlines including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Finnair Oyj have flown using such blends.
More efficient air traffic management could result in a decrease of 10 percent in aircraft fuel consumption, according to the statement, as well as “significant” reductions in CO2 and noise emissions.
French carrier Air France and aircraft manufacturer Airbus have completed the world’s greenest commercial flight by combining the latest fuel and air traffic management (ATM) technologies, the companies announced this week.
A flight from Toulouse-Blagnac to Paris-Orly, using an Airbus A321 had been able to demonstrate the halving of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the aircraft, compared with a regular flight.
The commercial flight combined for the first time the use of a mixture comprising half biofuels in each engine, optimised ATM and efficient continuous descent approach (CDA) to reduce CO2 emissions.
Combining these technologies helped half the overall CO2 emissions to 54 grams per passenger per kilometre. This was equivalent to a fuel efficiency of 2.2 l of fuel per passenger over 100 km.
“We are proud of the success achieved by this innovative project, which is a synthesis of our many initiatives in the area of sustainable development. This fully optimised green flight was further proof of Air France’s commitment to combine air transport growth with controlled CO2 emissions,” Air France executive VP for organisation and corporate social responsibility Bertrand Lebel said in a statement.
“This flight was the perfect example of Airbus’ global approach towards continuously reducing aviation’s CO2 footprint. This is not just a biofuel flight but the first flight that really puts into practice elements in the Airbus roadmap, such as biofuels, optimised ATM and green navigation,” head of Airbus environmental affairs Andrea Debbane added.
Biofuel is one solution for reducing overall CO2 emissions. Airbus’ alternative fuel strategy is to speed up its commercialisation through sustainable biofuel value chains. Owing to several test flights and collaboration with the fuels standards bodies, the use of 50% biofuel blends have been authorised in commercial flights.
Further, a more efficient ATM system could also help reduce the amount of fuel burned by aircraft and therefore the CO2 emitted. Airbus said it strongly supported the streamlining of ATM and has launched a new subsidiary company, called ‘Airbus ProSky’, dedicated to the development and support of modern ATM systems to achieve the highest operational efficiencies with more direct routings, resulting in around 10% less aircraft fuel consumption, as well as significant reductions in CO2 and noise emissions.
Meanwhile, CDA was becoming more widespread as a way to reduce fuel burn. During a CDA procedure, the aircraft would descend continuously, avoiding level flight prior to the final approach and requiring significantly less engine thrust and therefore less fuel burn.
This is a comment from Jeff Gazzard, from the Aviation Environment Federation, responsing to the Guardian’s page entitled “Are biofuel flights good news for the environment?” It’s worth the read!
It comes after both the Thomson flight on 6th October, using 50% used cooking oil in one engine (Thomson link) – and the announcement on 11th October that Virgin hopes to get fuel supplies from the waste gases emitted from steel production. (Virgin link)
Jeff Gazzard
The main purpose behind Thomson’s flight from Birmingham last week was to test one engine in isolation on a waste cooking oil-derived biofuel from a food processing factory in the United States. This will give them an important insight into any maintenance or engineering issues that may arise, which is a sensible test programme in my view.
Of course there are PR objectives but at least Thomson are willing to discuss the issues surrounding sustainability and I went along to this event at Birmingham airport where I learnt 2 things:
1. Thomson rejected one type of fuel produced at the US plant, which belongs to Tyson Foods, made from rendered animal waste, tallow, as unsustainable because of land use pressures back up the meat production chain. This is a decision I can understand and support
2. There is not, and never will be, enough waste cooking oil to make even the smallest of dents in aviation’s carbon footprint!
Right now, aviation biofuel is simply a PR-led device to frame the debate and divert attention away from the other 99.9% of aviation’s damaging CO2 emissions.
Just look at today’s announcement from our very own Knight of Biofuel PR, Sir Richard Branson. Very soon apparently, giant machines will suck the effluent gases from steel making into huge chambers; then extract the carbon monoxide from this mix and turn this gas into alcohol; and then into sustainable aviation biofuel. Et voila!
In the last few years, Branson has touted sustainable aviation biofuel from the babassu nut, a South American palm: whatever happend to that route, Richard?
We then had an investment in a company called Gevo who claim to be able to make cheap bio-butanol and then turn that into a jet fuel. How many litres of sustainable biofuel have yet reached your Virgin Atlantic aircraft from this supplier, Richard?
Sir Richard may yet wish to investigate whether base metals can be turned into gold. He may have more success.
Let’s look at some facts.
One potential aviation biofuel supplier is the US-based company, Solazyme. Solazyme’s technology, which uses algae to convert biomass to oil using indirect photosynthesis, once scaled up full commercial production, could supply around 50-100 million US gallons per year of cost-competitive jet biofuel in the $60-80 a barrel range, according to media coverage. Solazyme already has in place contracts with the US Navy and Air Force to supply its’ jet biofuel product.
Some mathematics – the entire aviation industry would require at least 2810 million barrels by 2030 at current growth rates. At 42 gallons per barrel that’s roughly 118,000 million gallons. Solazyme could provide 0.08% of that annual requirement. It will have to get cracking, as Solazyme currently produces very little commercial biofuel at all apart from small scale test quantities.
Some more mathematics – getting this much aviation fuel from a biomass-to-liquid route would require 254 milliion hectares of woody energy crops.
Providing it all from jatropha (soooooo last year!) would require 477 million hectares or 34% of the world’s current arable land area.
Algae production would need 31,000 production facilities of 1,000 hectares each or 2% of the world’s current arable area.
Ethanol production (converted to aviation spec fuel) from Brazilian-type sugar cane would need 185 million hectares equivalent to 13% of current global arable land.
Now I really do wish that there was a truly sustainable biomass source out there that had a zero carbon footprint – who wouldn’t? But after removing the hype, there isn’t.
The aviation industry wants us to believe that future flights will waft along on aircraft seemingly powered by giant air fresheners suspended beneath the wings, emitting the fragrance of your choice. Not so, I’m afraid.
But let’s be positive. Better brains than mine actually have the answer: tough constraints on aviation emissions growth. And maybe 10% biofuel by 2050. Please simply search the web for the UK Committee on Climate Change seminal report “Meeting the UK Aviation target – options for reducing emissions to 2050” first published in December 2009.
In response to the Thomson biofuel flight, using 50% used cooking oil in one engine, three Plane Stupid activists staged a naked protest – showing that biofuels are not green, and the Thomson PR exercise is bare faced cheek. Thomson intends, after a 6 week gap, to have many more biofuel flights in 2012. They hope to use used cooking oil, but the airline may have to use other fuels, as it is not likely to get enough of the oil – which is already much in demand.
7.10.2011 (Daily Mail)
Not red faced: Protesters from Plane Stupid at Birmingham airport protesting against the UK’s first commercial flight using biofuel because of the damage it does to the rainforest
– Plane flew from Birmingham airport to Lanzarote
– ‘Biofuel production killing rainforests,’ say protesters
By Gavin Allen
A planeload of British holidaymakers have made aviation history by flying to Lanzarote on a plane fuelled by used chip pan oil.
The Thomson Airways flight from Birmingham airport was the first UK commercial biofuels flight ever from a UK airport.
One of the engines on the twin- engined Boeing 757 flight was operated on a 50% blend of ‘Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids’, produced from used cooking oil, and 50% Jet A1 fuel.
You’re not under a vest: A Plane Stupid protester is led away by police after the scenes at Birmingham airport
But environmental protesters stripped naked and covered themselves in red body paint in a bid to disrupt the launch.
Calling themselves Plane Stupid they said that rainforests were being wrecked to make way for biofuel plantations.
The cooking oil used for the Thomson flights is collected from the kitchens of hotels and restaurants and then goes through a special processing treatment.
Carl Gissing, director of customer service at Thomson Airways, admitted that the biofuel cost around five to six times the price of aviation fuel, but said the airline was prepared to ‘put its money where our mouth is’ because it believed in sustainable biofuels.
Mr Gissing said: ‘We are proud to be leading the way with the first commercial biofuel flights and we hope it will make people sit up and take notice.’
Mr Gissing said the move was designed to make a statement which it was hoped would lead to industry and governments investing in developing fuels which would reduce carbon emissions.
After today’s light, carrying 232 passengers, there will be a six-week gap before Thomson starts a full programme of biofuel flights in 2012 from Birmingham Airport.
Dirk Konemeijer, managing director of skyNRG, which supplies the biofuel, said it made sense to utilise used cooking oil because it was a waste product which couldn’t be used for anything else. [This is untrue]
It was not economically viable at present to supply the whole of the aviation industry with the fuel and that was why government support was needed. [The aviation industry is, yet again, asking for subsidy from the public purse – and this time it is for a misguided idea that does not achieve its stated ambitions, and is very environmentally and socially damaging].
Long-term other technology was necessary and in three to four years a totally new fuel could come along. [Cloud cuckoo land again. Where is this magic substance to come from? Why should anyone believe some remarkable chemical miracle is going to present itself?]
Joe Peacock, from Birmingham Friends of the Earth, however, said: ‘We cannot ignore the massive environmental and social problems caused by trying to feed our addiction to fossil fuels with plant-based alternatives.’
Plane Stupid protester Chris Cooper said: ‘Thomson seem to be acknowledging that we can’t continue business as usual in the face of the current climate emergency.
‘It’s a shame their solution is to make matters worse.
‘Vast tracts of rainforest, eco systems vital to halting climate change, are currently being trashed to make way for biofuel plantations.
An Iberia Airbus A320 has flown its first commercial flight, using a blended jet biofuel from camelina, from Madrid to Barcelona. It burned around 2,800kg of a mixture of 75% Jet A-1 fuel and 25% camelina in both engines. The camelina was grown in the US and supplied and processed by a variety of US companies. This is part of Spain’s pioneering ‘Green Flight’ programme to advance the use of biofuels in aviation. Iberia claims the fuel cut CO2 emissions by 20%.
For the first time, a blended jet biofuel sourced from the camelina sativa plant has been used on a commercial flight. Flying from Madrid to Barcelona, an Iberia Airbus A320 burned around 2,800kg of a mixture of 75 per cent conventional Jet A-1 fuel and 25 per cent biofuel in both engines. The camelina was grown in the United States and supplied by Sustainable Oils.
The camelina oil was sent from Montana to Honeywell UOP’s Houston tolling facility in Texas where it was converted to the company’s Green Jet Fuel. The fuel was then blended with conventional jet fuel by ASA in Mexico and evaluated and certified by Spanish energy giant Repsol.
The flight was part of Spain’s pioneering ‘Green Flight’ programme to advance the use of biofuels in aviation. Iberia claims the fuel mix brought a saving of nearly 1,500kg of CO2 emissions, representing an emissions reduction of almost 20 per cent.
“The fight against climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face, and biofuels are essential for reducing our reliance on petroleum, increasing our competitiveness and achieving the ambitious emission reduction targets set by the airline industry,” commented Iberia Chairman Antonio Vázquez.
Repsol was responsible for producing and delivering the fuel, which was evaluated under high-performance conditions at its Technology Centre, one of the most advanced fuel R&D facilities of its kind in Europe. The company has developed a strategy to include sustainable refining and the making of clean fuels.
Iberia and Repsol say they will now consider a new initiative to advance research, development and the use of biofuels in commercial aviation.
The link with ASA (Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares), the state-owned agency that operates 18 airports and supplies aviation fuel from 61 outlets in Mexico, is part of a close relationship forged between the Spanish and Mexican governments involving the development of aviation biofuels.
Camelina sourced from the northwest United States, where it is grown as a rotational crop, has been used in previous test flights but Iberia says it can also be cultivated in Spain and unlike other plants used for biofuels, it can enrich the soil in which it is grown. Airbus, which worked closely with Iberia on the flight, is also involved with a value chain project in Romania that is seeking to develop an aviation biofuel industry from locally-grown camelina (see article).
Iberia recently signed an agreement with the Spanish Air Traffic Control and Air Safety Services and Studies agency (SENASA) and Airbus to support the development, production, and sustainable use of biofuels for aviation in Spain. Iberia is contributing its airline and aircraft maintenance experience, and will carry out tests using its engines and aircraft. The company is also participating in a research project with AlgaEnergy aimed at obtaining biofuel from microalgae (see article).
UK first as Thomson Airways’ three-year biofuel commercial flight programme finally takes off
Thomson Airways aircraft being refuelled with biofuel blend prior to flight
A Thomson Airways Boeing 757-200 today conducted the UK’s first commercial flight to use biofuel. Using a 50/50 blend of used cooking oil and conventional jet kerosene in one engine, the aircraft will make a four-hour flight from Birmingham Airport to Arrecife in the Canary Islands.
The flight marks the start of regular daily flights using a dedicated aircraft as part of trials to quantify any differences in performance or fuel burn of the engine when compared with the non-biofuel engine. The inaugural flight was originally scheduled for the end of July but was postponed due to “unforeseen delays” in the fuel delivery.
Two UK environmental groups have condemned the biofuel flight as “self-seeking and irresponsible greenwash” but the airline has hit back at the criticism.
The biofuel blend has been supplied by Netherlands-based SkyNRG, [see SkyNRG comment below] which has already supplied fuel for the KLM and Finnair biofuel flights that took place in July. Thomson says it will work with SkyNRG and its other strategic partners over the next three years to increase the proportion of jet biofuel it uses and drive down the cost of the fuel.
As a member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, Thomson has also pledged to use feedstocks that do not compete with food or natural resources and have significantly lower total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil jet fuel. [ How?? ]
In addition, says the airline, once the supply chain develops, feedstocks grown in developing areas must have a positive socio-economic benefit to local communities and areas of high conservation value and local eco-systems must not be cleared. [And quite how do they propose to achieve all that, with the known problems of indirect land use effects ?? A very laudable aspiration, but almost certainly unachievable in practice]
Thomson and its parent TUI Travel have called on the UK government and other European states to help accelerate the pace of development of sustainable aviation biofuels and incentivise investment in R&D, loan guarantees and other fiscal measures. [That means they want subsidies and government help, which means the tax payer pays].
However, today’s biofuel flight has been criticised by environmental groups AirportWatch and Biofuelwatch as “dangerous greenwash”.
“Thomson Airways are using spurious claims about the merits of ‘sustainable biofuels’ to try and get the Government to grant yet more financial support and preferential treatment for the aviation industry,” said Sarah Clayton of AirportWatch. “There is nothing sustainable about competing with other biofuel markets for the obviously limited supplies of used cooking oil and tallow.
“This merely means that others, finding increased competition for supplies, will then simply use more palm and soya oil instead, thus causing more forests to be destroyed. And there is nothing sustainable about worsening existing land conflicts in Brazil so that companies like Thomson can keep expanding.”
A spokesman for Thomson Airways said the claims made by AirportWatch and Biofuelwatch were “totally inaccurate”.
“They wrongly state that ‘Thomson Airways have now conceded that they will have to use virgin plant oil, initially from camelina from North America and babassu nuts from Brazil …’. The biofuel purchased by Thomson Airways is sourced entirely from used cooking oil. No animal tallow, camelina or babassu was used,” he said. [Doubtless the fuel for the first few flights was, but there is not enough used cooking oil to go round – it is almost all already diverted to terrestrial uses. One or two planes can fly on it, but not many. It is a token gesture].
The spokesman also pointed out a WWF Energy Report had recognised that bioenergy was currently the only suitable replacement for fossil fuels in transport applications that required liquid fuels with a high energy density such as aviation.
Christian Cull, Communications Director for TUI UK and Ireland, said: “We realise we won’t please everyone, and that at present the aviation biofuel supply chain is not perfect. We are sincere in our commitment and are proud to be flying with biofuel. Whilst these are early days, we are in this for the long haul because we believe it is the right thing to do.
Responding to the environmental groups’ claim that Thomson was using the biofuel flights as part of a lobby effort to win more state support and subsidies for aviation, the airline said it firmly believed the adoption of sustainable biofuels by airlines would help achieve the UK government’s carbon budget that commits to reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2025. [Not if the science is to be believed, the supposed carbon savings are shown to be hugely less than claimed, and for a huge amount of social and environmental damage, tnot to mention a lot of money from the taxpayer, here is only a tiny – if any – carbon saving as a result].
“We are aware of the negative impact of using biofuels irresponsibly, and that is why Thomson Airways believes the industry must continue to work together with initiatives such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels [about which there are many and profound criticisms and uncertainties] to find more sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel,” added the Thomson spokesman. “The aviation industry as a whole cannot stand still and do nothing.”
Jet fuel supplier SkyNRG is a joint venture made up of KLM, North Sea Group and Spring Associates. It is advised by an independent Sustainability Board that consists of two NGOs (including WWF-NL) [sic] and an academic institute on sustainability issues related to the proposed feedstock and estate selections.
SkyNRG has issued its own statement (see below) in response to the AirportWatch/Biofuelwatch criticism.
SkyNRG reaction to AirportWatch/Biofuelwatch statement
Air travel has become an integral part of everyday life. There will be air travel, now and in the future, as it fulfills an important social function in today’s global society. The aviation industry acknowledges the urgency for emission reduction and they also know there is a need to switch to alternative, renewable resources as fossil fuels are depleting. Demand side reduction is a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption and related green house gas emissions. But it does not offer a complete solution to aviation related emissions, let alone energy security. In addressing the challenge to replace fossil kerosene in a sustainable way, aviation has no alternative but liquid hydrocarbons from bio-based (waste) sources.
We share the concerns of NGOs (and other stakeholders) when it comes to bio-energy resources. We believe in the notion that the impact of bioenergy on social and environmental issues may be positive or negative depending on local conditions and the design and implementation of specific projects (SRREN, 2011). When done in the wrong way biomass and biofuel production systems can have a variety of negative impacts on eco- and social systems. Greenhouse gas emissions are just part of the problem. On the other side, well managed projects can have a profoundly positive effect on ecosystems and social systems alike and can include: enhanced biodiversity, soil carbon increases and improved soil productivity, significant greenhouse reductions, less dependency on fossil energy sources, reduced erosion (top soil and nutrient run off) effects, stimulation of local employment and strengthening of local, regional and national economies.
SkyNRG focuses on this positive side of biofuel development. To make the right decisions now and in the future, SkyNRG is advised by an independent Sustainability Board, consisting of the Dutch wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL), Solidaridad, and the Copernicus Institute of the University of Utrecht. SkyNRG recognizes to be in a transition; the best choices today are likely to be replaced by improved choices in the near future. We have chosen to start with Used Cooking Oil, a waste stream, as main feedstock. We know the available volumes are limited and that it can never replace total fossil kerosene consumption. And neither can vegetable oils. We see current options as a first step in the right direction and we are exploring and supporting future alternatives both in feedstock and technology.
“First steps are critical to get things going. The first launching flights, made by carriers that are stepping up to make the difference, are essential to engage industry, governments, customers and other stakeholders. We welcome Thomson Airways to join us on the road towards a sustainable future for aviation” – Dirk Kronemeijer, MD SkyNRG
On SkyNRG
SkyNRG is a joint venture of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, North Sea Group and Spring Associates. SkyNRG’s mission is to help create a sustainable future for aviation through actively developing a sustainable production chain for alternative aviation fuels. Today the market for these fuels is just emerging; SkyNRG is taking the first steps to make it a reality. Doing nothing is not an option.
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Note: Some of the claims made by AirportWatch and BiofuelsWatch are inaccurate. The article wrongly states that: “The company that is refining Thomson’s Biofuels states on their website that they are looking for Palm and Soya as suitable feedstock. This is not the case, the plant merely has the technical capability to process different types vegetable oils, hence the statement. Today the plant is running on waste oils only and has no intention to switch.
AirportWatch is pleased if SkyNRG is not using palm oil. The concern comes from knowledge that palm oil is being considered, or used, by others. For example in this GreenAir online article below:
Lufthansa will get its biofuel from Neste Oil, with palm oil likely to be sneaked into the mix
from
Lufthansa takes off towards a new era of sustainably fuelled regular commercial scheduled flights
Mon 18 July 2011 (GreenAir Online story)
This is a very worrying article about biofuel Lufthansa will be getting from Neste Oil, which is well known for using large quantities of palm oil. It appears that though Lufthansa is saying all the suitable greenwash things about its flights at present, using only camelina, jatropha and animal fats, as Neste Oil deals largely with palm oil, it is likely that so called “sustainably sourced” palm oil will get into the mix, and Lufthansa is not bothered about that.Click here to view full story…
The UK’s first commercial flight to be powered by biofuels headed off to the Canary Islands and a storm of controversy. The flight from Birmingham had one engine running on a mixture of 50% standard fuel and 50% biofuel made from waste cooking oil. Environmental campaigners said the pilot project was a gimmick that would end up harming the environment. FoE said biofuels won’t make flying any greener, but their production is wrecking rainforests, pushing up food prices and causing yet more climate-changing emissions.
The UK’s first commercial flight to be powered by biofuels will take off on Thursday, heading to the Canary Islands and into a storm of controversy.
Thomson Airways’ 14.25 service from Birmingham airport to Arrecife, on the island of Lanzarote, will be a scheduled flight like any other – except that one of the plane’s engines will run on a mixture of standard fuel and biofuel made from waste cooking oil.
But while Thomson, the airline business of TUI Travel, hailed the flight as the start of a new era that would take aviation beyond fossil fuels, environmental campaigners slammed the pilot project as a gimmick that would end up harming the environment.
The project has the support of MPs and the government’s aviation minister, Theresa Villiers, who said: “Sustainable biofuels have a role to play in efforts to tackle climate change, particularly in sectors where no other viable low carbon energy source has been identified – as is the case with aviation. We want aviation to flourish and grow but we have also been clear that the environmental impacts of flying must be addressed.”
Green campaigners attacked the use of waste cooking fat as a “hollow PR stunt”, because such fuel could only be used to power a tiny fraction of flights. Friends of the Earth calculated that each of the 232 passengers on Thursday’s four-hour flight would have to save all of their chip fat for 100 years in order to provide enough to power the plane.
Kenneth Richter, biofuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Biofuels won’t make flying any greener – their production is wrecking rainforests, pushing up food prices and causing yet more climate-changing emissions. The government must curb future demand for flights by halting airport expansion, promoting video conferencing, and developing faster, better and affordable rail services.”
The problem is that biofuels – once greeted by green campaigners as an alternative to fossil fuels – are now regarded as even more environmentally destructive than the fuels they replace. Natural oils such as palm oil are now hugely valuable globally traded commodities, and the rush to cash in has led to the widespread destruction of rainforest in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
For these reasons, green pressure groups want a moratorium on the use of biofuels. There have been moves to set up standards that would ensure any biofuels from oils such as palm oil come only from environmentally sustainable sources, but the supply is still only a fraction of the demand for plant-based oils.
The Boeing 757 plane with Rolls-Royce engines will use biofuel only from waste fats that have been processed to make them suitable. But the company concedes that the supply of such oils is relatively small.
Aviation currently accounts for around 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a proportion that is likely to increase. Air transport is not included in emissions targets under the Kyoto protocol, but the European Union plans to include flights to, from and within the bloc in its emissions trading scheme, which would penalise the airlines with the highest relative emissions. This move is bitterly opposed by the US, China and several other non-EU countries.
The passengers on Thomson’s TOM7446 flight have been informed about the biofuels. According to a spokesman, their reaction was “very positive”.See also
Comment from Jeff Gazzard, of the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF)
11.10.2011
The main purpose behind Thomson’s flight from Birmingham last week was to test one engine in isolation on a waste cooking oil-derived biofuel from a food processing factory in the United States. This will give them an important insight into any maintenance or engineering issues that may arise, which is a sensible test programme in my view.
Of course there are PR objectives but at least Thomson are willing to discuss the issues surrounding sustainability and I went along to this event at Birmingham airport where I learnt 2 things:
1. Thomson rejected one type of fuel produced at the US plant, which belongs to Tyson Foods, made from rendered animal waste, tallow, as unsustainable because of land use pressures back up the meat production chain. This is a decision I can understand and support
2. There is not, and never will be, enough waste cooking oil to make even the smallest of dents in aviation’s carbon footprint!
Right now, aviation biofuel is simply a PR-led device to frame the debate and divert attention away from the other 99.9% of aviation’s damaging CO2 emissions.
Thomson Airways has defended the environmental credentials of today’s biofuel-powered flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote, in the face of accusations that the trial is nothing more than a “hollow PR stunt”.
Thomson announced last month that today’s 14.25 flight will be its first using sustainable biofuel supplied by Dutch company SkyNRG, adding that it will kick off full daily operations from early 2012 for around six weeks.
KLM, Aeromexico, and Lufthansa have also flown commercial flights using biofuel blends as airlines look to cut emissions and guard against increasingly volatile oil prices.
But green groups have questioned the sustainability of jet biofuels, arguing that there simply is not enough waste to meet anticipated demand from the aviation industry.
Many groups, including WWF and Friends of the Earth, are concerned that airlines will turn to unsustainable biofuel feedstocks that could drive rainforest deforestation and other changes in land use.
Friends of the Earth said that it would take the average person a century to save up enough chip fat to fly from Birmingham to Lanzarote one way. In a statement, the group warned that Thomson will use virgin plant oil from the US and babassu nuts from Brazil and that TUI, Thomson’s parent company, is also investigating using soya and palm oil, both of which have been blamed for driving deforestation.
Kenneth Richter, Friend’s of the Earth’s biofuels campaigner, rejected Thomson’s claims that airlines’ adoption of sustainable biofuels will help achieve the government’s target of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2025, saying that land-use change could mean that biofuels from crops generate more emissions than they save.
“Biofuels won’t make flying any greener. Their production is wrecking rainforests, pushing up food prices and causing yet more climate-changing emissions,” he said in a statement.
“The government must curb future demand for flights by halting airport expansion, promoting videoconferencing, and developing faster, better and affordable rail services.”
However, these claims were rejected as “completely inaccurate” by Thomson, which insisted that the biofuel purchased was sourced entirely from used cooking oil and used no animal tallow, babassu or energy crop camelina.
The company reiterated its commitment to using sustainable aviation biofuel, which does not compete with food or natural resources and has significantly lower total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions that fossil jet fuel.
“We realise we won’t please everyone, and that at present the aviation biofuel supply chain is not perfect,” said Christian Cull, communications director of TUI UK and Ireland, in the statement.
“We are sincere in our commitment and are proud to be flying with biofuel. Whilst these are early days, we are in this for the long haul because we believe it is the right thing to do.”
Thomson Airways’ test biofuels flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote is a hollow PR stunt
Date Added: 6th October 2011
Thomson Airways’ test biofuels flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote is a hollow PR stunt that paves the way for rainforest destruction. Thomson today launches the 1st UK commercial flight run on biofuels. The biofuels Thomson will now use include virgin plant oil from the US and babassu nuts from Brazil. Both are in short supply so Thomson is likely to use unsustainable alternatives. Their publicity aims to persuade the travelling public and government, erroneously, that these biofuel flights produce less CO2 and are “greener” than usual.
THOMSON LAUNCHES BIOFUEL FLIGHTS – FRIENDS OF THE EARTH REACTION
6.10.2011 (Friends of the Earth press release)
Thomson Airways’ test biofuels flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote is a hollow PR stunt that paves the way for rainforest destruction, Friends of the Earth warns today as the company launches the first UK commercial flight run on biofuels.
Thomson had originally planned to launch a test flight at the end of July running on used cooking oil, but the company was unable to source enough fuel in time and had to postpone. Friends of the Earth says it would take the average person about a hundred years to save up enough chip fat to fly from Birmingham to Lanzarote on a one-way flight.
The biofuels Thomson will now use include virgin plant oil from the US and babassu nuts from Brazil. Both are in very short supply, and the charity is concerned the company will use unsustainable alternatives when it launches daily biofuel flights next year. Thomson’s parent company TUI is already looking into soya and palm oil for its Thomson Airways fleet – and these are known drivers of rainforest deforestation.
Research has shown that biofuels from crops could be causing more climate-changing emissions than they save. Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to halt airport expansion and develop greener alternatives to flying such as better rail services to replace short-haul flights.
Friends of the Earth’s biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter said:
“Biofuels won’t make flying any greener – their production is wrecking rainforests, pushing up food prices and causing yet more climate-changing emissions.
“It’s not surprising Thomson couldn’t find enough used cooking oil to fly to Lanzarote – it would take about a hundred years for each passenger to save up enough chip fat.
“The Government must curb future demand for flights by halting airport expansion, promoting video conferencing, and developing faster, better and affordable rail services.”
3. Calculation workings: In the UK about 1.6 litres of collectable waste cooking oil are produced per person per year. When collected and turned into fuel that volume is reduced to approx. 1 litre of biofuel per person per year due to filtering, cleaning and processing. A flight from Birmingham to Arrecife uses about 100 litres of aviation fuel per passenger. Therefore Friends of the Earth calculates that one person would have to save chip fat for about 100 years before they had enough to fly themself on a one way flight.
A Friends of the Earth Europe briefing ‘Flying in the Face of Facts: Greenwashing the aviation industry with biofuels’ reveals the likely environmental impacts of this target.
6. Friends of the Earth believes the environment is for everyone. We want a healthy planet and a good quality of life for all those who live on it. We inspire people to act together for a thriving environment. More than 90 per cent of our income comes from individuals so we rely on donations to continue our vital work. For further information visit www.foe.co.ukhttp://www.foe.co.uk
You might have think that cooking oil is good for nothing more than frying chips.
But Thomson Airways has found a whole new use for it – and is set to fly customers from Birmingham to Arrecife tomorrow, on a mixture of waste fat and jet fuel.
This supposedly more eco-friendly service was set to take flight last July, but has seen delays over testing processes and safety clearance.
Thomson claims the eco-friendly biofuel has the potential to reduce aviation emissions by up to 80 per cent in the future, and plans to use biofuel across its whole fleet within the next three years.
Thomson Airways managing director Chris Browne says:
‘Sustainable biofuels offer us the opportunity to improve our own individual environmental performance as well as contributing to the UK’s carbon reduction target.’
Aviation minister Theresa Villiers echoes his sentiment, saying: ‘The British government believes that sustainable biofuels have a role to play in efforts to tackle climate change, particularly in sectors where no other viable low carbon energy source has been identified – as is the case with aviation.’
The aircraft will run on a 50-50 mix of Jet A1 fuel and Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) fuel made from used cooking oil.
Sustainable biofuel costs significantly more than regular jet fuel – a stumbling block that is preventing it from currently being widely used in the aviation industry – but Thomson owners Tui Travel hope it will help them to reduce carbon emissions by 6% from 2008 to 2014.
Thomson has also pointed out that using biofuel can create work for people in developing countries, stating: ‘There are many different potential plant and waste sources for sustainable aviation biofuel, meaning that it can be grown in locations almost worldwide, and can therefore create work and income for people in developing countries.’
And nervous flyers should not worry. Thomson promises the ride will be ’a normal flight for you, just one that’s lighter on the environment’.
Thomson’s inaugural biofuel flight condemned as self-seeking and irresponsible greenwash
– biojet flight sparks controversy as airline pleads for a bail-out on fuel costs –
Aviation and biofuel campaigners have condemned Thomson Airways’ commercial UK biofuel flights, scheduled to begin on Thursday, 6th October, as dangerous greenwash. Thomson are the first company to launch
commercial flights with biofuel blends in the UK.
Thomson’s parent company, the TUI Group, is giving the strong impression that these biofuel flights are “green”. Their publicity aims to persuade the travelling public, and the government, that these biofuel flights produce lower carbon emissions, and are part of a real effort by the company to produce less environmental damage.
Their ‘biojet’ launch comes despite growing awareness of the serious negative impact which Europe’s demand for biofuels already has on forests and climate change, and mounting evidence that biofuel production raises
food prices, causes hunger and triggers land-grabbing in the Global South.
Thomson is also using these flights as part of a concerted lobby effort to win more state support and subsidies for aviation, this time to pay for biofuels (1). Seeking a way to boost their profits, airlines must view state aid that helps protect against fuel cost rises an attractive prize, particularly when it can be dressed up as climate-friendly.
Thomson originally planned to launch biofuel flights on 28th July, mixing only biofuels from Used Cooking Oil and tallow with kerosene, but had to delay those plans because they could not source enough used chip fat. They have now conceded that they will have to also use virgin plant oil, initially from camelina from North America and babassu nuts from Brazil, refined in Louisiana. Biofuels from camelina and babassu palm nuts are both in very short supply, with camelina yields being low and unreliable (2).
The company that is refining Thomson’s biofuels states on their website that they are looking at soya and palm oil as ‘suitable’ future feedstocks (3). Both are key drivers of tropical deforestation. as well as driving up food prices.
Industrial biofuel production from babassu is aggravating long-standing social and land-conflicts in Brazil, where up to 400,000 women and their families depend on traditional babassu harvesting and media reports have warned that energy companies are curtailing the families’ access to the trees, thus threatening their livelihoods (4).
Sarah Clayton from AirportWatch states: “Thomson Airways are using spurious claims about the merits of ‘sustainable biofuels’ to try and get the Government to grant yet more financial support and preferential
treatment for the aviation industry. There is nothing sustainable about competing with other biofuel markets for the obviously limited supplies of used cooking oil and tallow. This merely means that others, finding
increased competition for supplies, will then simply use more palm and soya oil instead, thus causing more forests to be destroyed. And there is nothing sustainable about worsening existing land conflicts in Brazil so
that companies like Thomson can keep expanding.”
Rob Palgrave from Biofuelwatch adds: “The word ‘sustainability’ has been used by virtually every sector and every company investing in all types of biofuels, regardless of the effects on people, climate and the environment. Thomson Airways are pushing for more government support for biofuel just weeks after a report published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has confirmed the major role which biofuels are playing in food price rises and thus the growing number of people going hungry worldwide and called for an end to biofuel support across Europe and North America.”
In July 2011, the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the FAO Committee on World Food Security confirmed that biofuels have played a significant role in the food price spike of 2007-2009 as well as in the current food price rises (5).
Last month, the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency challenged the EC to correct the accounting anomaly that means biofuels’ greenhouse gas emissions are being under-estimated, saying the current methodology is based on an false assumption involving double counting of carbon savings “and results in a serious accounting error” (6)
The Thomson flight comes shortly after NOAA data (7) show that globally, August 2011 had the second hottest land temperatures of any August since records began, and 2010 had the joint warmest combined land and sea
temperatures, equal to 2005. The industry and government recognise that aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions need to be substantially cut, but a misguided, misinformed and damaging dash for biofuel is not the answer.
The only way for aviation to sustainably cut greenhouse gases is to reduce flying.
Notes:
(1). For a copy of TUI’s Position paper on the introduction of biofuels
And then response by Sky NRG to the AirportWatch comment:
SkyNRG reaction to AirportWatch/Biofuelwatch statement
Air travel has become an integral part of everyday life. There will be air travel, now and in the future, as it fulfills an important social function in today’s global society. The aviation industry acknowledges the urgency for emission reduction and they also know there is a need to switch to alternative, renewable resources as fossil fuels are depleting. Demand side reduction is a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption and related green house gas emissions. But it does not offer a complete solution to aviation related emissions, let alone energy security. In addressing the challenge to replace fossil kerosene in a sustainable way, aviation has no alternative but liquid hydrocarbons from bio-based (waste) sources.
We share the concerns of NGOs (and other stakeholders) when it comes to bio-energy resources. We believe in the notion that the impact of bioenergy on social and environmental issues may be positive or negative depending on local conditions and the design and implementation of specific projects (SRREN, 2011). When done in the wrong way biomass and biofuel production systems can have a variety of negative impacts on eco- and social systems. Greenhouse gas emissions are just part of the problem. On the other side, well managed projects can have a profoundly positive effect on ecosystems and social systems alike and can include: enhanced biodiversity, soil carbon increases and improved soil productivity, significant greenhouse reductions, less dependency on fossil energy sources, reduced erosion (top soil and nutrient run off) effects, stimulation of local employment and strengthening of local, regional and national economies.
SkyNRG focuses on this positive side of biofuel development. To make the right decisions now and in the future, SkyNRG is advised by an independent Sustainability Board, consisting of the Dutch wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL), Solidaridad, and the Copernicus Institute of the University of Utrecht. SkyNRG recognizes to be in a transition; the best choices today are likely to be replaced by improved choices in the near future. We have chosen to start with Used Cooking Oil, a waste stream, as main feedstock. We know the available volumes are limited and that it can never replace total fossil kerosene consumption. And neither can vegetable oils. We see current options as a first step in the right direction and we are exploring and supporting future alternatives both in feedstock and technology.
“First steps are critical to get things going. The first launching flights, made by carriers that are stepping up to make the difference, are essential to engage industry, governments, customers and other stakeholders. We welcome Thomson Airways to join us on the road towards a sustainable future for aviation” – Dirk Kronemeijer, MD SkyNRG
On SkyNRG
SkyNRG is a joint venture of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, North Sea Group and Spring Associates. SkyNRG’s mission is to help create a sustainable future for aviation through actively developing a sustainable production chain for alternative aviation fuels. Today the market for these fuels is just emerging; SkyNRG is taking the first steps to make it a reality. Doing nothing is not an option.
—————————————-
Note: Some of the claims made by AirportWatch and BiofuelsWatch are inaccurate. The article wrongly states that: “The company that is refining Thomson’s Biofuels states on their website that they are looking for Palm and Soya as suitable feedstock. This is not the case, the plant merely has the technical capability to process different types vegetable oils, hence the statement. Today the plant is running on waste oils only and has no intention to switch.
Environmental NGOs have written to the EC President, José Manuel Barroso, demanding action on 5 scientific studies that question the energy benefits of biofuels, as a row over a land use report by the EU’s scientific advisors escalates. The best avialable science was dismissed by the EU. The 5 world-class studies for the EU all agree the Indirect Land Use Change effects of biofuels “could not only negate the expected carbon savings, but even lead to an increase in emissions.”
Out of the Deep Fat Fryer … Thomson Airways and its first biofuel flight
Date Added: 30th September 2011
With Thomson Airways re-launching their attempts to get regular biofuels flights from Birmingham Airport, green campaigners are raising concerns that new “Sustainable Aviation Biofuels” are actually likely to be more damaging for the environment. After dropping plans to fuel flights with used cooking oil due to insufficient supply, Thomson are now going to be using virgin plant oil from a number of sources, none of which should properly be classified as sustainable.
Thomson Airways plans its biofuel flight on 6th October, using a mix of oils as sufficient used cooking oil was not available
Date Added: 29th September 2011
Thomson will be flying its delayed first biofuel flight on 6th Oct from Birmingham to Arrecife. It was delayed from 28th July when supplies of used cooking oil could not be obtained in time. Thomson has put out a position paper on biofuels. Like other airlines, is getting a test flight with biofuels, hoping to persuade its customers and government that it is being “green” and environmentally responsible. Thomson hopes to have a daily flight using biofuel.
Environmental NGOs have written to the EC President, José Manuel Barroso, demanding action on 5 scientific studies that question the energy benefits of biofuels, as a row over a land use report by the EU’s scientific advisors escalates. The best avialable science was dismissed by the EU. The 5 world-class studies for the EU all agree the Indirect Land Use Change effects of biofuels “could not only negate the expected carbon savings, but even lead to an increase in emissions.”
Several environmental NGOs have written to the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, demanding action on five scientific studies that question the clean energy benefits of biofuels, as a row over a land use report by the EU’s scientific advisors escalates.
“We are writing to seek assurance that the Commission is giving due consideration to science in its energy policy, after several instances in which the best available science was dismissed,” the letter says.
In September 2009, Barroso made a speech calling for “a fundamental review of the way European institutions access and use scientific advice”.
But the letter cites five world-class studies for the EU which, it says, all agree that the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) effects of biofuels “could not only negate the expected carbon savings, but even lead to an increase in emissions.”
The 19 scientists on the panel decided that it neglected the fact that other carbon-absorbing plants would have grown on fertile land used by the biofuels, so any carbon absorption from the biofuels themselves was being “double-counted”.
The letter’s signatories include ActionAid, Birdlife, ClientEarth, European Environmental Bureau, Oxfam, Transport and Environment and Wetlands International.
“I can only rejoice that these seven NGO’s have done that [sent the letter],” Dr Pierre Laconte, the vice-chair of the EEA panel responsible for the report told EurActiv.
A spokesperson for Mr Barroso would only say that “the president has received the letter and there will be an answer in due time.”
The missive was prompted by a statement from an EU spokesperson on September 14th that research by the acclaimed Princeton scholar Tim Searchinger which underpinned the EEA’s report, “seems not to be an actual good contribution to the debate” and had been “rebutted by other institutions.”
“We have used Tim Searchinger’s work and we invited him to address us – as we did industry people,” Dr Detlef Sprinz, the chairman of the EEA panel, told EurActiv. “I find his work rather important,” he added. “It has been published in some of the best journals that we have.”
Contested science
The science involved in the report is of crucial importance. On Page 8, the EEA report cites the IEA as saying that biofuels could provide 20% of the world’s energy by 2050, and the UNFCCC claiming that bioenergy could supply 800 exajoules of energy per year (EJ/yr).
But today’s entire global cultivatable land for food, feed, fibre and wood only has a chemical energy value of 230 (EJ/yr), just over a quarter of that figure.
The implication, says Dr Laconte, could be a complete collapse of the world’s rural economies, as they are displaced by carbon-emitting feedstock-based biofuels.
“Agriculture could be wiped out and therefore the food it produces, leading to a problem of food scarcity,” he said.
The problem was one of “decisions on biofuels that have been taken, which are not easy to change and which have huge consequences.”
“People have praised a method of saving emissions which has proved not to be true,” he said.
Since 2008, EU member states have been obliged to raise the share of biofuels in the transport energy mix to 10% by 2020.
But because this can count towards their separate target of a 20% share for renewables in the overall energy mix by 2020, the EU says that biofuels will ultimately account for 2.5% of overall energy, or an eighth of the total.
Environmentalists cite an EEA report to argue that the figure would be even higher if it counted, for example, the annual 4.4 million tonnes of bioliquids for heating that can make up member states’ renewable targets. These can be provided by feedstock-based biofuels such as palm oil.
Asked by EurActiv whether the EU’s 20% renewables target was legitimate and could be trusted, Tim Searchinger, the scientist at the heart of the row, replied: “No, absolutely not.”
“The EU energy targets calls for a little bit more than half of all the targets to be met by bioenergy,” he said. “You could do that by chopping down your forests and putting them in a [biomass] power plant, or turning the Amazon into a parking lot for wood pellets.”
Forests in America were already being chopped down for such wood pellet fuel for the EU, according to Searchinger.
“It’s wrong, and everybody knows it,” he said. “Carbon accumulating forests absorb a third or more of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – on a gross basis. If you just get rid of that sink its doing as much to increase global warming as increasing your [fuel] source.”
A US company called GEVO in Silsbee, Texas, is converting alcohol (made from wheat) to isobutanol, and then converting this into alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel. It will provide the USAF with up to 11,000 gallons of ‘alcohol-to-jet’ (ATJ) fuel, which will be used to support engine testing and a feasibility flight demonstration using an A-10 aircraft. Gevo then hopes to become “a supplier of homegrown and renewable jet fuel to our armed services.”
Gevo Awarded Contract to Supply Jet Fuel to U.S. Air Force
28.9.2011
Air Force Purchase is for Jet Engine Testing and Feasibility Flight Demonstration
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (BUSINESS WIRE) — Gevo, Inc. a leading renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, has been awarded a contract by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to supply jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force (USAF). DLA sources and provides nearly 100% of the consumable items America’s military needs to operate. The contract, worth a possible total of $600,000, provides that Gevo will supply the USAF with up to 11,000 gallons of ‘alcohol-to-jet’ (ATJ) based jet fuel, which will be used to support engine testing and a feasibility flight demonstration using an A-10 aircraft.
“The USAF is committed to positioning itself to integrate cost competitive alternative aviation fuels for up to half of its domestic needs by 2016,” commented Christopher Ryan, Ph.D., president and COO of Gevo. “Once the USAF certifies our ATJ fuel, we believe we will have an excellent opportunity to become a supplier of homegrown and renewable jet fuel to our armed services.”
This is the first ATJ fuel contract awarded by the DLA. The contract stipulates that Gevo will supply the USAF with 7,000 gallons of ATJ fuel. The fuel will be shipped to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where the Air Force will finish lab testing and begin engine testing. DLA has the option to order up to an additional 4,000 gallons at the end of the contract.
The ATJ fuel is scheduled to be produced from isobutanol at Gevo’s hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant in Silsbee, Texas, in partnership with South Hampton Resources. The company plans to begin shipping product to the USAF in the first quarter of 2012.
About Gevo
Gevo is converting existing ethanol plants into biorefineries to make renewable building block products for the chemical and fuel industries. The company plans to convert renewable raw materials into isobutanol and renewable hydrocarbons that can be directly integrated on a “drop in” basis into existing chemical and fuel products to deliver environmental and economic benefits. Gevo is committed to a sustainable biobased economy that meets society’s needs for plentiful food and clean air and water. For more information, please visit http://www.gevo.com.
The USA was, in 2010, apparently (Natiaonal Geographic) the largest producer of biofuels in the world. And as much as 38% of the US corn (wheat) crop went into bioethanol in 2010 (National Geographic). It was 26% in 2009.. This is the sort of alcohol being used to make the GEVO alcohol to jet fuel. Corn is a food crop, so production of this fuel is in competition with crops for human (or animal) food.
What’s an airline to do in the years while HRJ aviation fuels are scaling up?
Well, that’s where Gevo and ATJ fuels come in.
The fuels are expected to be certified by around 2013 – and testing is now just getting underway for that. In fact, the Air Force contracted this month with Gevo to supply a quantity of renewable ATJ fuel for testing purposes. The contract, worth a possible total of $600,000, provides that Gevo will supply the USAF with up to 11,000 gallons of ‘alcohol-to-jet’ (ATJ) based jet fuel, which will be used to support engine testing and a feasibility flight demonstration using an A-10 aircraft. The fuel will be shipped to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where the Air Force will finish lab testing and begin engine testing. DLA has the option to order up to an additional 4,000 gallons at the end of the contract.
And it is participating (to the tune of $5 million) in the windfall from a USDA grant to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA), a consortium led by Washington State University (WSU), focused on the development of biojet fuel from woody biomass and forest product residues.
The ATJ fuel is scheduled to be produced from isobutanol at Gevo’s hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant in Silsbee, Texas, in partnership with South Hampton Resources. The company plans to begin shipping product to the USAF in the first quarter of 2012.
Gevo’s path to scale is fast. Its current feedstock of choice, corn starch, is already efficiently aggregated. What Gevo does is acquire an existing ethanol plant (or make a suitable JV arrangement) retrofit the plant over a nine-month period in which the plant is completely offline for around a month, for a cost of somewhere between 44 and 90 cents per gallon of ethanol capacity.
A 100 million gallon ethanol plant will produce 76 million gallons of isobutanol, and to that is added a standard oil refining industry unit (well, custom-designed to fit an isobutanol plant, but standard in its process), which converts isobutanol, in a few steps, to a renewable jet fuel.
Whether Gevo will ship ethanol to Texas for upgrading to jet fuel on a consolidated basis, or upgrade on site – that remains to be seen. With the upgrade cost at around the cost of a biobutanol retrofit, the Digest expects that ultimately Gevo would retrofit large-scale biobutanol plants, if it has sufficient contracts.
and
27.4.2011
Gevo signs deal to convert isobutanol to jet fuel
Gevo has signed a deal with Mustang Engineering to convert its isobutanol to bio-jet fuel. Under the engineering and consulting deal, Mustang will focus on the downstream processing of Gevo’s isobutanol into paraffinic kerosene (jet fuel).The deal is expected to help Gevo move forward with jet engine testing, airline suitability flights and, further down the line, commercial deployment.
The Colorado-based firm raised USD107.3m through a Nasdaq IPO in February and had previously raised around USD74m in venture capital from investors including Khosla Ventures, Virgin Green Fund, Total, Burrill Life Sciences Capital and Malaysian Life Sciences Capital.
Gevo develops catalysts and processing technology for producing isobutanol from feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane and cellulose-based biomass. The isobutanol is then used to make chemical intermediates, bio-based plastics and fuels that can be used in high concentrations with petrol in unmodified vehicle engines.
Last year, the firm paid Agri-Energy USD20.7m to acquire an operational ethanol plant with an annual production capacity of 22m gallons. The Minnesota plant, which will be the firm’s first commercial-scale facility, will be retrofitted with its technology and is expected to begin producing isobutanol in the first half of 2012, when it will have a production capacity of 18m gallons per year.
Gevo has signed letters of intent to supply chemical companies Lanxess, Total Petrochemicals, Toray Industries, United Air Lines and CDTECH. Last year, the firm announced that it had successfully produced and converted cellulose-based isobutanol into jet fuel.
With Thomson Airways re-launching their attempts to get regular biofuels flights from Birmingham Airport, green campaigners are raising concerns that new “Sustainable Aviation Biofuels” are actually likely to be more damaging for the environment. After dropping plans to fuel flights with used cooking oil due to insufficient supply, Thomson are now going to be using virgin plant oil from a number of sources, none of which should properly be classified as sustainable.
With Thomson Airways re-launching their attempts to get regular biofuels flights from Birmingham Airport, green campaigners are raising concerns that new “Sustainable Aviation Biofuels” are actually likely to be more damaging for the environment.
After dropping plans to fuel flights with used cooking oil due to insufficient supply, they are now going to be using virgin plant oil from a number of sources, none of which would be classified by environmentalists as sustainable.
These include the Babassu nut, exploitation of which would require mass displacement of indigenous people in South America and destruction of habitat essential for biodiversity.
Joe Peacock from Birmingham Friends of the Earth said “It’s hardly surprising that they could not find that much cooking oil, as it is already much in demand. Tokenistic efforts to appear greener are fooling nobody and are just an attempt to get even more government subsidies into damaging the environment.
“We cannot ignore the massive environmental and social problems caused by trying to feed our addiction to fossil fuels with plant-based alternatives.”
“Aviation is already the most under-taxed and over-subsidised industry, so we should be looking to make sure it pays its fair share whilst becoming more environmentally responsible, not subisidise it to create an even worse situation.”
Birmingham Friends of the Earth calls for a scrapping of all biofuel targets and research to be done into the impacts of current EU Renewable Energy Directive.
Notes to Editors
Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigns on many environmental issues on a local, national and international level. http://www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/
Thomson Airways plans its biofuel flight on 6th October, using a mix of oils as sufficient used cooking oil was not available
Date Added: 29th September 2011
Thomson will be flying its delayed first biofuel flight on 6th Oct from Birmingham to Arrecife. It was delayed from 28th July when supplies of used cooking oil could not be obtained in time. Thomson has put out a position paper on biofuels. Like other airlines, is getting a test flight with biofuels, hoping to persuade its customers and government that it is being “green” and environmentally responsible. Thomson hopes to have a daily flight using biofuel.
The UK’s first commercial flight powered by “sustainable” biofuels has been postponed after delivery problems. Thomson Airways’ flight TOM7424 from Birmingham to Palma was scheduled for 28th July. However, the airline said the green fuel pilot had been scraped as a delay beyond their control during the transportation of the fuel from the USA meant the testing process could not be done in time for the flight. Will probably take place in September.