Dutch airline to run commercial flights using biofuels from September, while Airbus ratchets up orders for fuel efficient jet.
Several airlines including KLM have taken a step towards reducing the sector’s dependence on fossil fuels after signing deals to fly passengers using recycled cooking oil.
Dutch airline KLM yesterday revealed that from September it will operate 200 flights between Paris and Amsterdam powered by biokerosene, which is supplied by SkyNRG, a consortium including KLM, North Sea Group and Spring Associates.
SkyNRG confirmed the fuel has gained ASTM certification and that the group has signed similar deals with several other airlines. However it refused to disclose details of the other buyers, saying only that the first flight will take place this summer.
KLM and SkyNRG maintain that the sustainability of the biofuel is monitored on a case-by-case basis and that no one single feedstock or technology is used because the sustainability of alternative jet fuel depends on varying factors.
The airline’s managing director, Camiel Eurlings, hailed the speed with which the consortium took biokerosene from pilot tests to commercial reality.
“In November 2009 we demonstrated that it was technically possible to fly on biokerosene. Now, a year and a half after our first demonstration flight on Camelina, a new phase has been entered around the world, that of certification,” he said.
The news came as the European Commission, Airbus, leading European airlines and biofuel producers launched a collaborative roadmap to boost the commercialisation of aviation biofuels.
The so-called “Biofuel Flightpath” sets out clear milestones to achieve an annual production of two million tonnes of European sustainably produced biofuel for aviation by 2020.
Energy Commissioner Gьnter H Oettinger backed the initiative, saying that it is in line with the EU’s European Strategic Energy Technology Plan.
“This is a unique opportunity to create the first industrial venture ever introducing sustainable biofuels for commercially competitive operations,” he said. “The Commission therefore fully supports all efforts in this direction and will actively contribute to their success.”
Source: BusinessGreen.com