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Algae success in a land down under

By Geoffrey Thomas

IATA claims Copenhagen victory

By Cathy Buyck and Geoffrey Thomas

Branson, Fyfe cite lack of leadership on environment

By Geoffrey Thomas

Companies announce plans to develop, produce camelina-based biojet

By Geoffrey Thomas

US carriers challenge legality of EU ETS

By Geoffrey Thomas

Other news

Airports Council International DG Angela Gittens called for renewed engagement
Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park and Qatar Petroleum announced that they jointly will carry out engineering and economic analysis
UK-based Lux Research said that bio-based fuels will not be a serious threat

Airlines commit to purchase green fuel at Sea-Tac

By Geoffrey Thomas

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Boeing, Etihad, UOP partner on saltwater biofuel project

Wednesday January 20, 2010

Boeing, Etihad Airways, Honeywell's UOP subsidiary and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (an Abu Dhabi-based research and graduate program partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) announced an agreement to establish a major initiative dedicated to developing "sustainable energy solutions." The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Project will use integrated saltwater agricultural systems to support the development and commercialization of biofuel sources for aviation and co-products.

Masdar will host SBRP and provide laboratory and demonstration facilities in and near Masdar City, which aims to be the world's first zero-carbon city. "Together with the Abu Dhabi government, Etihad Airways and other industry leaders, we are forging our energy future by developing a renewable fuel supply now, not when fossil fuels are depleted," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said. UOP VP and GM-Renewable Energy & Chemicals Jennifer Holmgren said SBRP "is a unique opportunity to showcase the viability of a geographically optimized solution and the availability of solutions that produce high-quality, green transportation fuels."

The partnership said saltwater will be used "to create an aquaculture-based seafood farming system in parallel with the growth of mangrove forests and salicornia, a plant that thrives in salty conditions." The "closed-loop" 2-sq.-km. system will produce an "affordable, nutrient-rich" fertilizer that will aid in the production of biomass that can be used to create aviation biofuel and other products. "Developing low-cost, nonpetroleum fertilizers is one of the keys to achieving genuine carbon emissions reductions from any biofuel source," the group said.

Qatar Airways unveils next phase of biofuel production

Wednesday January 13, 2010

Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park and Qatar Petroleum announced establishment of the Qatar Advanced Biofuel Platform, which, with the support of Airbus, will carry out engineering and economic analysis into the development of a sustainable biofuel and "will also look into ways for production and supply," QR said. QABP will focus on creating a detailed engineering/implementation plan for sustainable production, a biofuel investments strategy, an advanced technology development program and market and strategic analyses. QR said it will be a "dedicated end-user" and that specific feedstocks have been identified "which could be developed and processed with the aim of providing access to [biomass-to-liquid] jet fuel for use by Qatar Airways." The airline operated the first gas-to-liquid fuel blend-powered commercial flight with an A340-600 in October and conducted a feasibility study on sustainable BTL jet fuel with QSTP and US-based Verno Systems (ATWOnline, Oct. 16, 2009). The consortium announced its intent to explore the feasibility of GTL fuel at the 2007 Dubai Air Show. It said that while it is moving to the "next phase" of alternative fuels, it will continue "to develop GTL further."

BioJet, Great Plans plan mass camelina biofuel production in five years

Thursday January 7, 2010

BioJet Corp. and Great Plains Oil & Exploration yesterday announced an agreement to produce renewable jet fuel through joint development of integrated camelina cultivation and associated refinery projects in the US, Europe, South America and Asia. The companies said that within five years, camelina production from currently planned projects will yield some 200 million gal. per year of renewable jet fuel along with other products. Great Plains said it is the largest camelina producer in the world. BioJet already is working on a jatropha-based fuel and said its goal is to produce 20 million barrels of biofuel per year by 2020.

Wednesday January 6, 2010

GE Aviation completed the acquisition of BMB Fuel Consulting Services of Ottawa, which identifies and tracks operational improvements for airlines that will reduce fuel consumption, according to GE.

IATA claims Copenhagen victory

Tuesday December 22, 2009

IATA welcomed the Copenhagen Accord reached at the UN Climate Change Conference last week as "an important step in the right direction," and said the fact that aviation emissions were not addressed specifically was "a reflection of the proactive measures the industry has taken to set challenging targets for itself, together with an aggressive strategy to achieve them" (ATWOnline, Dec. 16). The organization promised to continue to work toward improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% per year and to be carbon neutral by 2020 and to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050. "We came to Copenhagen to be part of the deal and we were encouraged by the level of support for the industry's global sectoral approach and targets. We will continue to press states to include these global targets in any future deal," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.

Tuesday December 22, 2009

US Air Transport Assn., American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines last week initiated a legal challenge in the UK High Court of Justice against aviation's inclusion in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that it violates the Chicago Convention (ratified in the UK in March 1947), the Kyoto Protocol, the US-EU open skies agreement and is "contrary to the customary international law principle that each state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory." The lawsuit was filed against the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Most American carriers are assigned to the UK for participation and compliance in the ETS.

The suit was not unanticipated. Last week, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani told ATWOnline that he does not expect the ETS to start as scheduled in 2012 owing to multiple legal challenges concerning its unilateral implementation (ATWOnline, Dec. 16). All US carriers, most non-EU airlines and even some EU carriers have submitted their initial emissions monitoring plans, scheduled to begin Jan. 1, under protest. The UK Dept. of Energy and Climate Change said it "will robustly defend the EU legislation that the UK called for in order to tackle aviation emissions."

IATA claims progress in implementing global emissions approach

Wednesday December 16, 2009

IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani does not expect the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to start in 2012 as scheduled owing to legal challenges concerning its unilateral implementation. [more]

15 airlines sign MOU pledging biofuel support

Wednesday December 16, 2009

US Air Transport Assn. announced that 15 airlines have signed MOUs with either AltAir Fuels, Rentech or both expressing nonbinding commitment to support future biofuel supply. Air Canada, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, JetBlue Airways, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Polar Air Cargo, United Airlines, UPS Airlines and US Airways signed with both providers. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines went with AltAir only and AirTran Airways signed with Rentech. ATA said discussions with additional fuel producers "about other projects" have started. "This agreement is a significant step forward, establishing a framework for a large group of diverse carriers to negotiate a definitive fuel purchase agreement," Rentech President and CEO D. Hunt Ramsbottom said.

AltAir is working on producing some 75 million gal. of jet and diesel fuel derived from camelina oils or comparable feedstock per year at a new plant in Anacortes, Wash. Rentech plans to produce around 250 million gal. per year of synthetic jet fuel derived principally from coal or petroleum coke near Natchez, Miss., with the resultant carbon dioxide sequestered and the carbon footprint potentially further reduced by integrating biomass as a feedstock. Last summer, eight airlines operating at Los Angeles International signed a deal with Rentech for the supply of a renewable synthetic diesel fuel for use in ground service equipment (ATWOnline, Aug. 19).

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