The airlines: who’s doing what in aviation biofuels?

Investors: The Major Players

British Airways
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In December 2012, British Airways announced a commitment to buy $500M in aviation biofuel produced at the GreenSky London facility for the next ten years and consent is now being sought to begin construction of the facility at a site in East London. GreenSky London is a joint development between British Airways and Solena and once built will be Europe’s first commercial scale low carbon jet fuel production facility.

The first-of-its-kind facility will annually convert around 500,000 tonnes of locally-sourced waste, that would otherwise go to landfill, into 50,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation biofuel and 50,000 tonnes of bionaphtha and biodiesel. The facility will also have a renewable power generating capacity of 40 MW.

Keith Williams, Chief Executive of British Airways, said: “We are delighted that the GreenSky London project is getting ever closer to fruition. With world-class technology partners now in place, we are well on our way to making sustainable aviation fuel a reality for British Airways by 2015.”

British Airways has now committed to purchasing, at market competitive prices, the jet fuel produced by the plant for the next ten years which equates to $500 million at today’s prices. Furthermore, the partners have signed an exclusive option on a site for the facility and consent work for the site has now begun.

In September 2012, British Airways environmental chief Jonathon Counsell said that the company would shortly embark, by year end, to begin construction of its first waste-to-biofuels plant. The company signed a collaboration with Solena three years ago. “It’s been proven the will is there, the technology is now a commercial issue,” Counsell was quoted as saying. “The route we’re going down will be cost competitive with fossil fuel by 2015. And once we’ve proven the technology, we can look at building more plants across the UK.”

Cathay Pacific
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In August 2014, Cathay Pacific Airways announced a strategic investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy, and negotiated a long-term supply agreement with Fulcrum for an initial 375 million US gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over 10 years (representing on an annual basis approximately 2% of the airline’s current fuel consumption) that meets all the airline’s technical requirements and specifications. Fulcrum plans to commence construction of its first commercial plant later this year and to build large scale, waste-to-renewable jet fuel plants at multiple locations, including locations strategic to the Cathay Pacific network, primarily in North America. Cathay Pacific Airways is a Hong Kong-based airline serving more than 180 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe and Africa. Dragonair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, and the airline also has a 60% stake in AHK Air Hong Kong Ltd, an all-cargo carrier operating regional express freight services.

Qatar Airways
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2013. 

in 2013, Qatar Airways invested in the California firm Byogy Renewables, reports Bloomberg.  Chris Schroeder, a senior manager with QA is quoted as saying, “We’re looking to underwrite an investment into Byogy of up to 10 percent, coupled with an off-take agreement… This will enable the company to go into the market and look for further equity investment or other partners.”  Financial details were not given.

Byogy makes bio-jet fuel from alcohol and it is expecting ASTM approval in late 2013.  Schroeder noted that QA is hoping to have a “couple of flights to Europe by the end of 2014”, with ethanol sourced jet fuel.

United Airlines
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2015.

In June 2015, AltAir Fuels said it would begin regularly scheduled deliveries of sustainable biojet fuel to United Airlines LAX operations this year, the airline announced today.

AltAir’s Paramount, California-based refinery converts sustainable feedstocks, like non-edible natural oils and agricultural wastes, into low-carbon, renewable jet fuel. This fuel is price-competitive with traditional, petroleum-based jet fuel, but achieves a 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions on a life cycle basis when compared to traditional jet fuel. United will purchase up to 15 million gallons of sustainable aviation biofuel from AltAir over a three-year period, with the option to purchase more.

In June 2015, United Airlines announced a $30 million direct investment in advanced biofuels developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, obtained an option to invest in five future commercial-scale aviation biofuels plants, and signed offtake agreements for up 90 million gallons of biofuels per year.

The offtake contracts are worth an estimated $1.58 billion over the 10-year offtake span, based on the current jet fuel price of $1.76 per gallon, according to Digest calculations.

The shift in United’s fuel purchasing represents 3% of its annual fuel consumption, reported by the airline at 3.2 billion gallons in 2013, and comes after Cathay Pacific invested in Fulcrum BioEnergy in 2014 and signed offtake agreements from the company’s first commercial facility, now under development near Reno, Nevada. The five new plants are expected to range in size between 30 and 60 million gallons.

Among the manufacturers: Boeing

Last publicly reported activity: 2015.

In September 2015, Boeing welcomed China President Xi Jinping to its widebody commercial airplane factory and announced several agreements that will broaden and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between Boeing and China. Under the framework of the MOU between Boeing and the National Development Reform Commission, Boeing and NDRC announced a new initiative to turn agricultural waste in China into sustainable aviation biofuel. Boeing will partner with NDRC to turn items from farms, such as corn cobs and wheat stalks, into sustainable jet fuel as a way to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions.

In July 2015, In Japan, Boeing and Japanese aviation industry stakeholders have charted a course to develop sustainable aviation biofuel for flights during the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, when millions of people are expected to visit Japan.

The Initiatives for Next Generation Aviation Fuels (INAF) – a consortium of 46 organizations including Boeing, ANA (All Nippon Airways), Japan Airlines, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Japan’s government and the University of Tokyo – laid out a five-year “roadmap” to develop biofuel by 2020 as a way to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint.

In January 2015, In Brazil, Boeing and Embraer have opened a joint sustainable aviation biofuel research center in a collaborative effort to further establish the aviation biofuel industry in Brazil.

At the Boeing-Embraer Joint Research Center in the São José dos Campos Technology Park, the companies will coordinate and co-fund research with Brazilian universities and other institutions. The research will focus on technologies that address gaps in creating a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil, such as feedstock production, techno-economic analysis, economic viability studies and processing technologies.

In December 2014, Boeing completed the world’s first flight using “green diesel,” a sustainable biofuel that is widely available and used in ground transportation. The company powered its ecoDemonstrator 787 flight test airplane Tuesday with a blend of 15 percent green diesel and 85 percent petroleum jet fuel in the left engine.

“Green diesel offers a tremendous opportunity to make sustainable aviation biofuel more available and more affordable for our customers,” said Julie Felgar, managing director of Environmental Strategy and Integration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We will provide data from several ecoDemonstrator flights to support efforts to approve this fuel for commercial aviation and help meet our industry

In October 2014, Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China opened a demonstration facility that will turn waste cooking oil, commonly referred to as “gutter oil” in China, into sustainable aviation biofuel. The two companies estimate that 500 million gallons (1.8 billion liters) of biofuel could be made annually in China from used cooking oil.

“Strong and continuing teamwork between Boeing and COMAC is helping our industry make progress on environmental challenges that no single company or country can solve alone,” said Ian Thomas, President, Boeing China. “By working together for mutual benefit, we’re finding innovative ways to support China’s aviation industry and build a sustainable future.”

In August 2014, Boeing, South African Airlines and SkyNRG announced they are collaborating to make sustainable aviation biofuel from a new type of tobacco plant. This initiative broadens cooperation between Boeing and SAA to develop renewable jet fuel in ways that support South Africa’s goals for public health as well as economic and rural development.