FLY THE SUSTAINABLE SKIES OF AIR NEW ZEALAND?

Air New Zealand is preparing a Boeing 747-400, powered by Rolls-Royce engines RB211, to fly on jatropha oil.

Air New Zealand describes its drive to become the first airline to fly a biofuel-powered commercial jet flight as part of “...commercial aviation's drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.”

This is actually about being the first with technology allowing the aviation industry to beat the cost of its spew in the coming emissions-constrained world.

When the EU initiates caps on aviation emissions, expected around 2016, it will be so expensive the European airlines have asked for protections from other nations’ carriers. The issue could touch off a trade war.

If Air New Zealand has, in 2016, a cost-competitive, carbon-neutral jet fuel technology, it will be king of the aviation world.

Jatropha grows to 10 feet and produces seeds that are 30-to-40% inedible lipid oil. Jatropha can be grown in difficult arid and otherwise non-arable areas, leaving farmlands available for food crops.

This meets 1 of the 3 non-negotiable criteria established by the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (which includes Air New Zealand and the other partners in its biofuel-powered jet venture, Rolls Royce, Boeing and UOP/Honeywell).

The 3 criteria: (1) The fuel source must be sustainable and not compete with food crops or water needs; (2) it must be a drop-in replacement for petroleum jet fuel; and, (3) it must be cost competitive and easily available.

The Group is rigorous about the sustainability of the fuel’s source: The jatropha feedstock may not come from land that was forest or virgin grassland within 2 decades and may not be land for most food crops. The feedstock crops must be rain-fed rather than mechanically irrigated.

Terasol Energy, an expert in sustainable jatropha development projects, was hired to independently certify the fuel met all the criteria.

Now if it only flies the plane…

The test flight is scheduled for the end of the year.

click to enlarge

Air New Zealand Sustainable Biofuel Test Flight Update
October 28, 2008 (Air New Zealand/Business Wire via MarketWatch)

WHO
Air New Zealand; Rolls Royce; Boeing; UOP/Honeywell; Terasol Energy

WHAT
The world's first commercial aviation test flight will be powered by a sustainable second-generation jatropha biofuel.

A lot of effort is going into verifying sustainability. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The Rolls Royce technical team is now putting the fuel through rigorous testing.
- The test flight will be scheduled in December when the : exact date confirmed once fuel testing is complete.

WHERE
- The Rolls-Royce engine test facility is in Derby, UK.
- The test flight will be in Auckland, New Zealand.
- The jatropha-based fuel comes from South Eastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) and India.

WHY
- One of four engines for the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 is ready for testing.
- Preliminary data shows the jatropha-sourced fuel meets all required commercial aviation specifications.
- Rolls Royce will do rigorous testing to further validate the preliminary data.
- The test flight is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and UOP/Honeywell.
- The jatropha oil was refined in an Air New Zealand-Boeing-UOP collaboration, using UOP technology.

Production is expanding across the developing world. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- From Jatropha Sustainable Biofuels Alliance: "According to the experts we interviewed, deforestation for the cultivation of Jatropha is only a minor issue...there was a general concern that these statements may be biased...Data from 90 projects with a total planted area of approximately 325,000 ha shows that primary forest existed on about 0.3% of the cultivated land in the last 5 years, and secondary forest existed on 5%...Food production has been replaced on 1.2% of planted areas..."
- From Jatropha Sustainable Biofuels Alliance: "...expert interviews [indicate] that replacing food
production is of minor importance for Jatropha cultivation. The main areas used for Jatropha cultivation in our sample are wasteland and former non-food production areas."