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

Customers: The Pioneers

British Midland

Last publicly reported activity: 2014.

In June 2014, biofuels-powered flights have begun from Sweden, operated by BMI between Karlstad and Frankfurt and by Nextjet between Karlstad and Stockholm. Meanwhile, Karlstad Airport became the first airport in Europe to install a fixed storage tank facility for aviation biofuel. The facility officially opened on Thursday 26 June and the first regular commercial flight in Sweden to be made using aviation biofuel will fly from Karlstad on the same day. From the start of 2015 all aircraft departing from Karlstad Airport can be filled with the eco-friendly fuel.

“BMI are very proud to be part of the first scheduled flight from Sweden flown on biofuel. Together with our partners at Karlstad Airport and Statoil, we intend to fly even more frequently on sustainable jet fuel. Indeed, we hope that this Karlstad biofuel programme will act as the blue print for new sustainable jet fuel routes across Europe’ said Ian Woodley, Board Director, British Midland Regional.

Alaska Airlines

Last major reported activity: 2015. 

In June 2015, Alaska Airlines said it was teaming up with the Washington State University-led Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) to advance the production and use of alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals, the tree limbs and branches that remain after a forest harvest. Gevo will provide isobutanol that made from wood waste, which will then be converted to jet fuel.

As the airline partner for NARA, Alaska Airlines intends next year to fly a demonstration flight using 1,000 gallons of alternative biofuel being produced by the NARA team and its many partners. The planned flight signals a growing interest in the aviation industry for a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuel.

NARA’s focus is on developing alternative jet fuel derived from post-harvest forest residuals. Residual treetops and branches are often burned after timber harvest. By using these waste materials as the feedstock of a biojet fuel supply chain, NARA and its aviation industry partners, seek to reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions as well as bolster sustainable economic-development potential in timber-based rural communities located throughout the Pacific Northwest.

In July 2013, Alaska Airlines and Hawai`i BioEnergy announced an agreement for the carrier to purchase sustainable biofuel for its aircraft. Founded in 2006, Hawai`i BioEnergy is a consortium of three of Hawaii’s largest landowners and three venture capital companies who plan to use locally grown feedstocks to produce biofuels. Hawai`i BioEnergy said it would amp up production of the sustainable fuels within five years of regulatory approval, allowing Alaska Airlines to begin procuring sustainable jet fuel for its Hawaii flights possibly as soon as fall 2018.

In November 2012, Alaska Airlines said its decision to use 20% biofuel during its 75-flight biofuel commercialization program was limited to 20% because of lack of supply. With the fuel produced in Louisiana from used cooking oil, refined in Texas and sourced by a broker the Netherlands, the supply chain was very difficult. Beyond that, it cost $17 per gallon compared to $3.14 per gallon for A1 jet fuel.

Fedex

Last publicly reported activity: 2015.

In July 2015, Red Rock Biofuels said it will produce approximately three million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel per year from 2017 through 2024 for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, in an agreement announced by the companies today. FedEx joins Southwest Airlines in purchasing Red Rock’s total available volume of jet fuel from its first commercial plant, which is scheduled to break ground this fall in Lakeview, Ore. and will convert approximately 140,000 dry tons of woody biomass into 15 million gallons per year of renewable jet, diesel and naphtha fuels. The plant is expected to produce 40% jet fuel, 40% diesel, and 20% naphtha, or 6 million gallons, 6 million and 3 million respectively. The Southwest Airlines offtake agreement was signed last September.

Gol
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In July 2014, Amyris partnered with Brazilian airline GOL to begin the first commercial route with farnesane, the recently approved renewable jet fuel. GOL has committed to fly its Boeing 737 fleet with up to a 10 percent blend of the renewable fuel on its U.S. to Brazil routes starting with initial flights later this month. Supported by Boeing (NYSE:BA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other partners, Amyris is working to bring this new, renewable jet fuel to commercial airlines starting with Brazil’s GOL Airlines.

In June 2014, Gol Airlines said it would power 200 flights on a 4% biofuel blend during the World Cup. Though it wasn’t clear who would supply the fuel, the company did a trial flight between Sao Paolo and Brasilia last year using Amyris jet fuel.

KLM
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In November 2014, SAS along with the Lufthansa Group and KLM, signed an agreement with Statoil Aviation for a regular supply of bio-fuel at Oslo Airport. SAS was first off the ground in Norway and from Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden with a bio-fuel mix around a week ago and this agreement shows the airline takes its corporate social responsibility seriously in reducing its green house gas emissions.

Via an agreement signed with Avinor and the above named airlines, Statoil Aviation is to supply 2.5 million liters of bio-fuel to the refueling facility at Oslo Airport. With a 50% bio-fuel mix, this will fuel around 3,000 flights between Oslo and Bergen and make OSL the first major airport in the world to offer a regular supply of bio-fuel as part of daily operations from March 2015.

In May 2014, KLM reported that it will launch a series of biofuel flights to Aruba and Bonaire over a six- month period, operating an Airbus 330-200

In March 2013, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flew the first in a series of biofuel-powered flights between Amsterdam and New York. The flight of the 777-200 was supplied with biofuel by SkyNRG. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has partnered with Schiphol Group, Delta Air Lines, and the Port Authority of New York to complete the plans for the 25-week pilot program.

In June 2011, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines became the first airline in the world to operate a commercial flight carrying 171 passengers on aviation biofuels. Flight KL1233 – a Boeing 737-800 – took off this afternoon at 12:30 hours from Schiphol bound for Charles de Gaulle in Paris carrying 171 passengers.

KLM’s first commercial flight to Paris was operated on biokerosene produced from used cooking oil. This same raw material will be used in the flights scheduled for September. The fuel was supplied by Dynamic Fuels via SkyNRG, the consortium co-founded by KLM in 2009 with the North Sea Group and Spring Associates.

Lufthansa
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In November 2014, SAS along with the Lufthansa Group and KLM, signed an agreement with Statoil Aviation for a regular supply of bio-fuel at Oslo Airport. SAS was first off the ground in Norway and from Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden with a bio-fuel mix around a week ago and this agreement shows the airline takes its corporate social responsibility seriously in reducing its green house gas emissions.

Via an agreement signed with Avinor and the above named airlines, Statoil Aviation is to supply 2.5 million liters of bio-fuel to the refueling facility at Oslo Airport. With a 50% bio-fuel mix, this will fuel around 3,000 flights between Oslo and Bergen and make OSL the first major airport in the world to offer a regular supply of bio-fuel as part of daily operations from March 2015.

In September 2012, Algae.Tec and Lufthansa have signed a Collaboration Agreement for the construction of a large-scale algae to aviation biofuels production facility. The site will be in Europe adjacent to an industrial CO2 source. Lufthansa will arrange 100% funding for the project. Algae.Tec will receive licence fees and profits from the Project, which will be managed by Algae.Tec.

In July 2012, Lufthansa said that A1 jet fuel would remain the main aviation fuel for the next 20 years but does expect renewable jet fuel to replace up to 5% of the market in the next five to seven years. With the European economic climate no longer interesting for investors, the airline believes that agricultural investments—for feedstock for aviation biofuel, for example—is an area not yet fully exploited.

In January 2012, Lufthansa announced that its flight trial from Frankfurt to Washington on Jan. 12, 2012 will be its last using renewable jetfuel because it hasn’t been able to secure long-term sources of the biofuel. With this flight alone, Lufthansa expects to reduce CO2 emissions by 38 tonnes, equivalent to the CO2 emissions of six scheduled flights between Frankfurt and Berlin.  In all, 1,187 biofuel flights were operated between Hamburg and Frankfurt. According to initial calculations, CO2 emissions were reduced by 1,471 tonnes. Total consumption of the biokerosene mix amounted to 1,556 tonnes.

SAS
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

In November 2014, SAS along with the Lufthansa Group and KLM, signed an agreement with Statoil Aviation for a regular supply of bio-fuel at Oslo Airport. SAS was first off the ground in Norway and from Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden with a bio-fuel mix around a week ago and this agreement shows the airline takes its corporate social responsibility seriously in reducing its green house gas emissions.

Via an agreement signed with Avinor and the above named airlines, Statoil Aviation is to supply 2.5 million liters of bio-fuel to the refueling facility at Oslo Airport. With a 50% bio-fuel mix, this will fuel around 3,000 flights between Oslo and Bergen and make OSL the first major airport in the world to offer a regular supply of bio-fuel as part of daily operations from March 2015.

In October 2011, Solena and SAS announced a partnership to develop a waste-to-jet fuel project at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, with a goal of establishing similar projects in Denmark and Norway.

The Arlanda project will gasify waste biomass, including municipal solid waste, and process the resulting syngas it into bio-based synthetic paraffinic kerosene, or renewable jet fuel. Solena, which had previously announced a 14 million gallon biofuels project with British Airways, in which BA would take an equity stake, and said that the SAS project would have similar characteristics. Solena and Qantas also recently announced a development effort.

South African Airways
SAFUG member

Last publicly reported activity: 2014. 

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.

In July 2012, South African Airways says that it wants to achieve 50% use of aviation biofuels by 2020. The expectation is that the policy shift for the state-owned company will create sufficient demand to spark local production. The country’s energy department has been slow in approving a biofuel policy for road transport.

Southwest Airlines

Last publicly reported activity: 2015.

In July 2015, Red Rock Biofuels said it will produce approximately three million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel per year from 2017 through 2024 for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, in an agreement announced by the companies today. FedEx joins Southwest Airlines in purchasing Red Rock’s total available volume of jet fuel from its first commercial plant, which is scheduled to break ground this fall in Lakeview, Ore. and will convert approximately 140,000 dry tons of woody biomass into 15 million gallons per year of renewable jet, diesel and naphtha fuels. The plant is expected to produce 40% jet fuel, 40% diesel, and 20% naphtha, or 6 million gallons, 6 million and 3 million respectively. The Southwest Airlines offtake agreement was signed last September.