Zero Petroleum is displaying in Farnborough the first aircraft to fly on 100 percent synthetic fuel, an Ikarus C42 microlite, along with samples of the company’s drop-in aviation fuel that powered the flight. In a further demonstration of the fuel’s viability, on Monday an artist carved an ice sculpture of a Red Arrow jet with a chainsaw powered entirely by the synthetic fuel at the Zero Petroleum stand (C601).
The fuel-making process uses renewable energy to extract hydrogen from water and combines it with CO2 captured from the atmosphere. The synthetic fuel can serve as a direct replacement for fossil-based fuels, according to the UK company. Last year’s synthetically powered flight of the Ikarus took place from Cotswald Airport in November, in partnership with the Royal Air Force, and the Guinness World Records recognized it as the “first aircraft powered by synthetic fuel.” A quantity of the avgas, made at a pilot plant in Orkney, is also on display.
On Tuesday the company presented a discussion of the future of aviation fuel, featuring RAF test pilot Peter Hackett, who piloted the Ikarus demonstration flight, and Zero Petroleum co-founder and former F1 engineer Paddy Lowe.
Since that inaugural flight, the fuel has also become the first fully synthetic fuel to power a motorbike. It also has been featured on television’s Top Gear, fueling two supercars, where presenters declared it “a magic bullet” for the automotive industry.