Following in the vapor trails of January’s Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step Toward Sustainability, which marked the first commercial availability of sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) in the U.S. for business aviation, a similar event took place last month in Europe, ahead of EBACE. Titled Fuelling the Future, it was the first time renewable jet fuel was available to private aviation in Europe.
It began with North America-based aircraft from OEMs and other operators heading to Europe for EBACE, having the opportunity to fuel up on Avfuel-supplied SAJF at the Sheltair FBO at New York’s Republic Airport before their transatlantic flights between May 16 and 18.
On May 18, at London-area TAG Farnborough Airport, the SAJF coalition—which consists of EBAA, NBAA, GAMA, IBAC, and NATA—hosted a media reception detailing progress in the adoption of the renewable fuel in the year since the launch of the Business Aviation Guide to the Use of Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel at last year’s EBACE, including an address by Eurocontrol director general Eamonn Brennan, the heads of the coalition members, and a panel discussion of industry experts.
“Sustainable aviation fuels and airframe and engine technology improvements are key to aviation minimizing its carbon footprint,” said Brennan, noting that of the three, the use of SAJF is the most promising near-term option. “The problem is, the cost of production is still too high for aircraft operators. The challenge of industry, and above all governments, is to establish clear long-term policy frameworks and find a way of funding transition costs of what is essentially a huge technological change in order to achieve the ICAO 2050 Vision for Sustainable Aviation Fuels.”
Aircraft bound for the EBACE static display, many carrying members of the media for demonstration flights, were then able to fill up on SAJF. Though it was planned as a European event, the pure, unblended fuel, produced by U.S.-based Gevo from non-feedstock corn, was shipped across the Atlantic by World Fuel Services to the UK, where it was blended with conventional jet-A and trucked to Farnborough. “We were all very disappointed that we couldn’t get fuel from the European continent,” said Róman Kok, EBAA’s communication manager. “This situation is part of the realities that we face, especially in business aviation, when it comes to sustainable alternative jet fuel and it is especially the reason we’re organizing these events, not only to educate, but also to bring to light to regulators and fuel providers that our industry is ready to jump on this fuel, but availability is still a huge problem.”
For Europe-based aircraft, Caen Airport in France and Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda also received truckloads of SAJF, produced by Neste from used cooking oil and furnished by Air BP. That fuel was delivered to the airports' fuel farms and mixed into the general fuel supply, as evidence of its total compatibility with conventional jet fuel.
Combined, the arrival of SAJF-fueled aircraft in Geneva represented the business aviation industry’s largest fly-in on the renewable fuel to date. Among the participating airframers were Bombardier, Cirrus, Dassault, Diamond, Embraer, Gulfstream, Piaggio, and Textron Aviation. “Business aviation continues to show the world its commitment to mitigating its contribution to climate change,” said Kurt Edwards, IBAC’s director general, adding the Farnborough event demonstrates the industry’s strong interest in sustainable fuel, which is a critical measure to address the global challenge. “The initiative supports the 2009 Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change and similar global efforts with other industry sectors and the International Civil Aviation Organization."
Since 2006, the European Commission (EC) has selected certain events to highlight as part of the EU Sustainable Energy Week, and this year Fuelling the Future was given that honor, allowing the event organizers to note that it is now part of the EC framework for sustainable energy.