European group sets 600 million gallon aviation biofuel target for 2020

June 23, 2011 |

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (right) speaks to LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren (left) and other aviation biofuels stakeholders. At center (sixth from left) Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle listens in.

Four airlines, producers team with European Commission in Biofuels Flightpath group; USDA Secretary Vilsack visits Paris Air Show to demonstrate support for aviation biofuels, in break from G20 meetings in Paris.

At the Paris Air Show, major European stakeholders set a goal of 600 million gallons (2 million metric tons) of annual sustainable biojet production by 2020 under a new program called Biofuel Flightpath.

Flightpath stakeholders

For Flightpath, the European Commission has teamed with Airbus, Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, British Airways and biofuel producers Choren Industries, Neste Oil, Biomass Technology Group and UOP.

The “Biofuels Flight path” is a shared and voluntary commitment by its members to support and promote the production, storage and distribution of sustainably produced drop-in biofuels for use in aviation. It also targets establishing appropriate financial and legislative mechanisms to support the construction of industrial “first of a kind” advanced biofuel production plants.

“The Fligtpath announced today is very much in line with Neste Oil’s goals,” says Janne Mielck, Neste Oil’s Vice President, Business Development. “We are already capable of producing NExBTL renewable aviation fuel from sustainably produced inputs on an industrial scale. Our R&D aimed at extending our raw material base and developing our refining capabilities supports the overall intent of the new Flightpath.”

“NExBTL renewable aviation fuel complies with the toughest quality standards and offers airlines an easy and highly effective solution for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. We also believe that aviation biofuels could ultimately be used to fulfill the national biomandates that are currently being fulfilled mostly with road traffic fuels,” Mielck added.

Vilsack in Paris

Among the visitors to the Paris event, the Alternative Aviation Fuels showcase hosted US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The USDA secretary, recently named the #1 in the Top 100 People in Bioenergy by Biofuels Digest, detoured from his official activities as the world gathers for the G20 and his rounds with world agricultural leaders to talk about alternative fuels from Agriculture.

Sapphire Energy’s Tim Zenk reports:

“The secretary said national security, jobs and revitalized rural communities along with increasing trade from the production of alternative aviation fuels is what led him to become the first agricultural secretary to visit the Paris Air Show.

“The secretary was greeted by members of the Air Transport Association (ATA), Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and 17 industrial alternative fuels makers.  His remarks focused on the significance of the Obama administration’s efforts to commercialize alternative fuels especially for aviation.  In his extemporaneous remarks the secretary drove home the multiple benefits to the US economy that alternative fuels bring to the US economy, including job creation, innovation, and increased energy independence.

Italy, Spain join CAAFI effort on aviation biofuels

“On the international level,” Zenk added, “CAAFI announced new partners, the Italian and Spanish National Civil Aviation Authorities, to drive global cooperation and development of alternative aviation biofuels.  The international cooperation agreement will support development of alternative fuels internationally, and will be framed by the International Civil Aviation Authority.”

Category: Fuels

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