In partnership with Air BP, Avinor, and sustainable biofuel specialist SkyNRG, Oslo Airport Gardermoen began offering a commercial supply of jet biofuel in January. This has been a first in commercial aviation, making Oslo Airport the first international hub to offer jet biofuel on regular delivery to all airlines; Lufthansa, KLM, and SAS have already signed purchase agreements on the product. The new fuel option can be delivered via the existing hydrant mechanism, meaning aircraft will not lose time waiting for specialized fuel trucks.
The introduction of biofuel at Oslo Airport is in line with recent climate objectives set by the aviation sector and will hopefully inspire other airports to follow suit. While biofuel is somewhat more costly for airlines compared to ordinary jet fuel, participating airlines receive tax breaks and the added benefit of flights that do not count against the EU’s quotas for greenhouse gas emissions.
While the initial delivery agreement is quite small—only 330,000 gallons—the ultimate goal is to gradually increase the volume over the coming years to standardize utilization of biofuel amongst commercial airlines. The use of biofuel remains one of the few options to help achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions and will likely be standard practice amongst the majority of airlines in the future.
In the US, the pressure to reduce carbon emissions and meet impending limits on emissions is also bringing about similar efforts to utilize biofuel. Last summer, a United Airlines flight took off from Los Angeles and flew to San Francisco using fuel created from farm waste and animal fats by AltAir Fuels of Southern California. The airline also recently invested $30 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy, making it the biggest investment thus far by a domestic airline for alternative fuel.
Fulcrum developed and certified a technology that is capable of turning municipal waste into jet fuel that cuts an airline’s carbon emissions by 80 percent. The company is building a biofuel refinery in Nevada that will open in 2017 and has plans to develop five more refineries around the country.
Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has plans to use biofuels at one or more of its airports by 2020, and Southwest Airlines announced last year that it will purchase approximately three million gallons per year from Red Rock Biofuels.
Elsewhere in the world, British Airways is working in partnership with Solena Fuels to build a biofuel refinery near London’s Heathrow Airport, which should be completed by 2017. Both Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and Brisbane Airport have plans to create a “bioport,” similar to that of Oslo’s, in cooperation with SkyNRG. Schiphol plans to launch its program in 2017, using biofuel made from used cooking oil. The introduction of the bioport in Brisbane would make it the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to offer mass-support of biofuels.
These global initiatives have been driven by the requirement for the aviation industry to work towards a sustainable low-carbon future. The International Air Transport Association’s aim is to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020 and a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Additionally, airlines hope to expand consumer awareness for responsible aviation practices. Hopefully, these initiatives will be adopted industry-wide, paving the way for a sustainable future in travel!
