Airlines join forces to develop green aviation fuel
30.06.08
Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and Boeing are joining forces to develop the world's first green aviation fuel - made from pond and sea weed – the Daily Mail reports. Soaring fuel costs and growing concerns over environmental damage caused by conventional aviation fuel are driving plans to produce biofuels based on algae.
The three companies will fund scientific projects to develop the fuel source while testing the products on their own planes. Virgin's Sir Richard Branson says that in 5 years the Virgin fleet could run partly on fuel from algae.
Sir Richard told the newspaper: 'It offers huge potential. Crucially it is a source of biofuel that doesn't lead to deforestation or taking away of land or water from the cultivation of essential food crops.'
Scientists believe that algae could be the ultimate biofuel, providing the main solution to the problem of cutting airline carbon emissions. The advantage of algae is that it can grow incredibly fast - doubling in size in a few hours - and it does not need fresh water or good quality land.
Thick green algae also produces at least 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives such as palm oil, soya or jatropha, a nut-bearing shrub cultivated in several countries as a biofuel.
Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is investing in a new plant in Hawaii to grow marine algae.
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