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The global aviation industry is rapidly accelerating its testing program for alternative fuels, with experts predicting new aviation fuel blends containing biofuels could be sanctioned as safe for commercial use travel within the next 12 months.
Under existing plans biofuels are expected to be certified as safe in 2013, however the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the industry is now actively pushing for some biofuels to gain certification in early 2011.
IATA spokesman Steven Lott said that successful testing of alternative fuels has moved far faster than many experts predicted.
“There is a lot of momentum thanks to the industry’s united environment strategy and goals,” he explained, adding that a further three commercial airlines are planning to trial biofuels this year building on the growing list of test flights undertaken since 2008.
US airline Jetblue is expected to fly an Airbus A320 biofuel within the next few weeks, followed by Brazilian airline Tam, which plans to test a Jatropha-based biofuel in the second half of the year. Mexican airline Interjet is also planning to test a biofuel developed from Salicornia, a type of halophyte that grows in saltmarshes mangrove swamps. Halophyte-based biofuels are widely regarded as a potentially exciting development, as they can be produced without eating into agricultural land.
Lott said a major driver in the speedy deployment of new technology is the industry’s four pillar strategy, signed in 2008, which calls for investment in new technology, improved flight operations and efficient infrastructure, and the development of new economic instruments in order to help cut carbon emissions from the sector.
However, the imminent inclusion of airlines in the EU emissions trading scheme from 2012 and the on-going volatility of fuel prices, which saw oil prices spike to almost $150 per barrel in the summer of 2008, has also increased pressure on operators to identify alternative fuel sources.
“There is a lot of interest from across the industry, airlines, manufacturers, suppliers, to see certification within the next 12 months,” said Lott. “We will be eagerly watching the additional tests and certification process.”
