Developing alternative aircraft fuels

As well as exploring ways to make aircraft lighter and more fuel-efficient, the use of different kinds of aircraft fuels is being explored by the aviation industry.

Although its still early days as far as alternative fuels are concerned, fuels that could be used as building blocks towards the vision of a low or 'zero' carbon plane in the future are being explored, including:

• The widely publicised Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Amsterdam in early 2008 with one Boeing 747-400 engine operating on a 20% biofuel mix of babassu oil and coconut oil; and
• Airbus flying an A380 in early 2008 with one engine powered by Fischer Tropsch Gas (synthetic) to Liquid fuel.

There are also plans by:

• Air New Zealand to fly a Boeing 737 with one engine on a biofuel/kerosene mix in 2008/2009; and
• Continental Airlines to fly a Boeing 737 on (third generation) biofuel in 2009.

There has been much debate recently on the use of biofuels but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for the gradual shift from what it calls first generation biofuels (produced from the sugars, starches, oils or fats of agricultural products – which compete with food production) to long-term sustainable biofuels (second and third generation biofuels such as forest residues (eg sawdust) and algae (which can be grown with polluted or salt water and can produce up to 250 times more oil than first generation soybeans).

Although the aviation industry is not yet in a position to use these sustainable biofuels, the experimentation in the use of first generation and other biofuels is an important building block towards long-term sustainable aviation. In fact, IATA has called for 10% of all airline fuel to be from alternate sources by 2017.

There is a lot more work to do but, along with improving the fuel efficiency of aircraft and other measures, developing alternative fuels is another important step on the road to aviation’s greener future.

Further information
IATA report on alternative energy fuels (PDF)

Related news
Rolls-Royce and BA to test for greener fuels (The Guardian, 11 July 2008)
Airline in first biofuel flight (BBC, 24 February 2008)