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NEWS / FEBRUARY 2010 / BA'S PLANS TO TURN RUBBISH INTO JET FUEL

BA’s plans to turn rubbish into jet fuel 16 February 2010

As reported by a number of newspapers, British Airways is planning to establish the first green jet fuel plant in Europe.
The plant will produce low-carbon fuel from food scraps and other waste and will lead to significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. The aviation industry has set out how biofuels will play a role in reducing emissions to 2000 levels in 2050.
The Independent reports that BA plans to have biofuels make up 10 per cent of its total fuel usage by 2050.
In the shorter term, the plant will produce 16m gallons of fuel from 500,000 tonnes of waste annually, which will provide fuel for 2 per cent of BA planes from Heathrow.
This comes on the back of the news that British Airways and Rolls-Royce will be conducting biofuel trials in 2010 and a successful trial held by Virgin Atlantic in 2008

OUR REACTION

Rt Hon Brian Wilson Rt Hon Brian Wilson commenting on

BA’s plans to turn rubbish into jet fuel

It’s crucial that we use the world’s resources as responsibly as possible and at the same time explore all the technological avenues in terms of alternative fuels. That’s why British Airways’ investment in a facility to reuse waste biomass and convert it into jet fuel is so welcome.
Other industry players including Airbus, Virgin, Boeing and Rolls-Royce have already conducted trials of different types of alternative fuels and whilst there is still some way to go before these can be used for all commercial fleets it’s a real step in the right direction.
The roll-out of sustainable bio-jet fuels is fast becoming a reality as more airlines carry out test-flights and invest in development.
The aviation industry agrees that for biofuels to represent a real alternative they must be safe, not compete with food stocks, not contribute to deforestation and they must be commercially scalable.
The international process for securing safety certification is already underway.  The trials have proved that biofuels work, now the challenge is to make them practical on an industrial scale.

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