Airline companies have in recent years been testing biofuels in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and cost of fuel. Some companies have committed to deals with various biofuel companies and researchers, including researching biofuels from algae and other sources. British Airways in taking the use of biofuels a step further.
Recently, British Airways signed a deal with the United States’ company Solena Group. Solena Group will be building the first ever plant in Europe that will be producing jet fuel from waste products. British Airways has agreed to purchase all jet fuel produced by the plant.
The plant is expected to be built in the next two years and will be up and running by the year 2014. If all goes according to plan, the plant will be using 500,000 tons of waste in order to produce 16 million gallons of fuel each year. This amount of fuel is double the amount needed for flights from London City Airport. However, it is only two percent of fuel required for flights coming from Heathrow Airport.
In addition, the waste produced from making the jet fuel will also be able to be used in the form of electricity for the plant itself. The plant is also expected to put some 20 megawatts into the electricity grid in Britain. The initial waste product being use for the fuel is expected to reduce methane emissions since it will not end up in a landfill.
A problem with the deal is that the fuel which the company will be producing is not certified for use in Britain. The fuel, however, is able to be used in other countries. However, the fuel is to be bought solely by British Airways and therefore they are currently attempting to get certification for the fuel use.
