Biofuels & novel fuels News
Below are links to stories about aviation biofuels.
Pressure mounts over biofuels – they should not be classed as zero-carbon under the EU ETS
Date added: 2 July, 2011
A report has been published by ClientEarth, reflecting mounting concerns over
the use of biofuels as a substitute for fossil fuel. Not only are there serious
concerns about land use, competition with food and deforestation, but when a full
lifecycle analysis is carried out, the total emissions can be comparable or even
higher than those from burning fossil fuel. Under the ETS biofuels are currently
exempted so the system of capping, and this needs to change.
Click here to view full story...
Chipping in to help the environment: Thomson Airways launches aircraft powered by COOKING OIL (Mail)
Date added: 2 July, 2011
Next month, Thomson Airways will become Britain's 1st airline to fly customers
on biofuel - in this case cooking oil - when it operates a service to Spain.
It plans to operate the flight from Birmingham to Palma, on July 28 once final
safety clearance is received. Flights will use a 50/50 blend of Jet A1 fuel and
hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) fuel -- made from used cooking oil.
After that weekly flights to Spain using biofuel will begin in September.
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KLM operates first scheduled flight on 50% biokerosene from used cooking oil in both engines
Date added: 30 June, 2011
KLM has became the first airline to operate a commercial flight carrying 171
passengers on 50% biokerosene. A Boeing 737-800 flew from Schiphol to Paris.
KLM says they would be operating more than 200 flights to Paris on biokerosene in September.
The fuel was supplied by Dynamic Fuels via SkyNRG, the consortium co-founded by
KLM in 2009. "KLM is open to using different raw materials .... as long as they
meet a range of sustainability criteria".
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Momentum gathering towards aviation biofuels commercialisation as US and European policy-makers signal support
Date added: 27 June, 2011
GreenAir online is enthusiastic about the introduction of aviation biofuels after
the boost they received at the Paris Air Show. Announcements behind the scenes
indicated progress towards a viable alternative jet fuel industry. The US, including
the US Navy, want biofuels for energy security and job creation. Europe wan them
for climate reasons. In Europe a body called "European Advanced Biofuels Flightpath"
has high targets for EU biofuel by 2020, with EIB aid.
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KLM to launch commercial flights in September Amsterdam – Paris on biofuel (? used cooking oil ?)
Date added: 23 June, 2011
KLM says it will fly more than 200 flights between Amsterdam and Paris on biokerosene
made from used cooking oil. It does not say what percent of the fuel the used
oil will be. KLM then says it will use other fuels too, as long as they meet their
sustainability criteria and include substantial CO2 reductions. In practice there
is nowhere near enough used cooking oil available, most of which is already used
as biodiesel for land vehicles, and other uses.
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Friends of the Earth Europe report on aviation biofuels – Flying in the Face of the Facts
Date added: 21 June, 2011
European airlines fuelling aeroplanes with biofuels is greenwashing, and flies
in the face of recommendations from major international institutions, FoE Europe
have said on the opening of the Paris air show. The European aviation industry, with support from the European Commission, is
expected to announce plans to use 2 million tonnes of bio-kerosene per year by
2020. This is diverting political attention from the real need to cut air travel in order to
reduce climate change.
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Boeing will fly 747-8 freighter aircraft on 15% camelina biofuel from USA to Paris Air Show
Date added: 19 June, 2011
Boeing will fly a new 747-8 freighter from America to the Paris Air Show, (4,335
nautical miles) on 15% biofuel in each of the plane's 4 engines. Boeing notes
that the fuel is a camelina biomix that was grown in Montana and processed by
Honeywell’s UOP. The airplane will be on static display at the Paris Air Show June 21 and 22 and
then leave the air show the evening of June 22 and fly to Cargolux headquarters
at Luxembourg for a two-day visit.
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Honeywell demo flight in Gulfstream G450 using one engine using 50% biofuel from camelina crosses Atlantic
Date added: 19 June, 2011
Honeywell has for the first time flown a business jet - Gulfstream G450 - across
the Atlantic with one engine using a blend of of its "Green Jet Fuel" 50:50 oil
from camelina and and traditional petroleum-based fuel and landed safely at Le
Bourget Airport, Paris. The company said it was the first major test flight of such fuel by a business
jet. According to Honeywell the seven-hour flight saved "approximately 5.5 metric
tons of net CO2 emissions.
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ClientEarth briefing says biofuels should not have a zero emissions factor in the EU ETS
Date added: 14 June, 2011
A new legal briefing from ClientEarth entitled "Bringing the ETS in line with reality: Making biomass emissions count through
the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation" argues that the current application of a zero-emission factor to emissions from
biomass used in sectors covered by the ETS does not accurately reflect actual
emissions from biomass and is contrary to the principle underlying the ETS that
each operator should be responsible for his own emissions.
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Biofuels From Algae, Wood Chips are approved for use by passenger airlines (USA)
Date added: 10 June, 2011
Airlines won the backing of a US- based technical-standards group (ASTM International)
to power their planes with a blend of traditional fuel and biofuel from inedible
plants etc. Fuel processed from organic waste or non-food materials, such as algae or wood
chips, may comprise as much as 50% of the total fuel burned to power passenger
flights. The real winners will be technology companies in biofuel production. Final approval
will be around July.
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