At the end of February, Virgin Atlantic Airlines successfully completed the first ever flight with an airplane powered by bio-diesel – but the flight has been criticized by some environmental groups as more of a PR stunt than a true green step forward.

The criticism was due to the fact that only a small portion, less than ten percent, of the aviation fuel used was actually bio-diesel, and due to the fact that bio-diesel, as discussed before on this website, may have hidden environmental costs.
The particular fuel used for the flight was derived from babassu oil and coconut oil, which Virgin Atlantic state are environmentally and socially sustainable as they don't compete with staple food sources. However, Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson, also stated that this would not be the bio-fuel of the future for the airline industry.

Branson said: "The particular fuel we are looking at working on is algae. Algae can come from sewage plants, we can then turn it into fuel, and fuel the planes of the future without any effect to our environment."

Algae does not have the same environmental complications as other bio-fuels, as all it needs to grow is sunlight, salt water and carbon dioxide. Algae can be grown in almost any enclosed space, it thrives in desert climates, and can even feed off the carbon dioxide emissions of factories and power plants.

Oilgae, as it has been dubbed, also has the potential to yield far greater amounts of fuel than those derived from food sources. It has been estimated that over a billion acres of fertile land would be needed to grow enough crops to provide the amount of bio-fuel needed to replace oil in the US, but algae would only require 95 million acres of land, and much of that could be in arid, desert locations.

Dozens of companies across the globe are currently researching how the best methods to produce oilgae, but it could soon become a realistic, and genuinely eco-friendly, alternative to oil.