BBC News 24 Feb 08;
The first flight by a commercial airline to be powered partly by biofuel has landed in Amsterdam.
Billed by Virgin Atlantic as a green fuel breakthrough, the firm's flight from Heathrow did not carry passengers.
Earlier this month, Airbus used the world's largest passenger jet, the A380 to flight test another alternative fuel - a synthetic mix of gas-to-liquid.
Many environmentalists argue that cultivating biofuel is not sustainable and will lead to reduced land for food.
Virgin's Boeing 747 had one of its four engines connected to an independent biofuel tank that it said would provide 20% of the engine's power.
This reduced risk to the flight because the three other engines were capable of powering the plane on conventional fuel had there been a problem.
The three-hour Airbus flight from Filton near Bristol to Toulouse on 1 February was part of an ongoing research programme.
'Gimmick'
Virgin's flight used a biofuel derived from a mixture of babassu nuts and coconuts.
The company said the babassu tree, native to Brazil, and the coconuts do not compete with staple food sources and come from existing mature plantations.
Both products are commonly used in cosmetics and household paper products.
One problem with flying planes using biofuel is that it is more likely to freeze at high altitude.
The technology is still being manufactured by companies GE and Boeing, but Virgin believes within 10 years airlines could routinely be flying on plant power.
Kenneth Richter, of Friends of the Earth, said the flight was a "gimmick", distracting from real solutions to climate change.
"If you look at the latest scientific research it clearly shows biofuels do very little to reduce emissions. At the same time we are very concerned about the impact of the large scale increase in biofuel production on the environment and food prices worldwide," he said.
"What we need to do is stop this mad expansion of aviation at the moment it is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in the UK and we need to stop subsidising the industry."
But Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson said the flight was an early step towards greener aviation.
"This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future, fuels which will power our aircraft in the years ahead through sustainable next-generation oils, such as algae."
Will biofuels power tomorrow's planes?
BBC News 24 Feb 08;
On Sunday, a Virgin Airlines Boeing 747 took off from London's Heathrow Airport en route to Amsterdam. This short flight may prove to be a giant leap forward for the aviation industry.
The aircraft did not carry passengers - but it was the first commercial aircraft to fly partly under the power of biofuels.
One of the aircraft's four engines ran on fuel comprising a 20% biofuel mix of coconut and babassu oil and 80% of the normal Jet A aviation fuel.
Biofuels - principally ethanol and diesel made from plants - are one of the few viable options for replacing the liquid fuels derived from petroleum used in transport, the source of about one quarter of the human race's greenhouse gas emissions.
Existing engines
The airline industry is being increasingly criticised for its perceived part in global warming, as more and more people take advantage of cheap tickets on aircraft powered by kerosene. Environmentalists claim it is a major carbon producer, fuelling rising world temperatures.
Airlines and aircraft designers have been feeling the heat. Plane-makers Boeing and aircraft engine manufacturers General Electric have been working with Virgin to cut down their flights' carbon footprints.
What is exciting the aviation industry is the fact the aircraft is completely unchanged, using the same engines as any scheduled, passenger-carrying flight. Only the fuel is different.
The flight follows a journey made by an Airbus A380 earlier this month using another alternative fuel - a synthetic mix of gas-to-liquid - in one of its four engines.
It flew from Filton in the UK to Toulouse in France, a journey of some 900km (560 miles), and was in partnership with Rolls-Royce and Shell.
Air New Zealand is also working with Boeing and Rolls-Royce to mount a test flight powered partly by biofuels later this year.
These are the first tentative steps in breaking the aviation industry's reliance on kerosene. But it is likely to be decades before aircraft are able to take to the skies powered entirely by something other than fossil fuels.
One industry analyst told the BBC News website there were several problems to overcome.
Jet A fuel, one of the standard aviation fuels, has a stable energy content and a low freeze point - meaning it is suited to the very low temperatures encountered by high-flying aircraft.
Biofuels cannot be relied upon to operate as reliably in the same temperatures.
Jet A fuel also burns consistently, which means it provides a reliable and safe fuel source for long flights.
Environmental drawbacks
Airlines also want a biofuel which can be burnt in existing engines - rather than having to replace every engine in their fleets.
There are other issues surrounding biofuels. There are concerns widespread planting and use of biofuel crops could threaten natural ecosystems and raise food prices. It could also mean the deforestation of rainforests, which absorb massive amounts of carbon.
Virgin remained tight-lipped about where its biofuel comes from until the day of the flight but said it would be a "truly sustainable type of biofuel that doesn't compete with food and fresh water resources".
Some environmentalists are sceptical. They believe the secret to cutting down aviation's share of the carbon is cutting the amount of flights we take.
Kenneth Richter, Friends of the Earth aviation campaigner, said: "Biofuels are a major distraction in the fight against climate change. There is mounting evidence that the carbon savings from biofuels are negligible.
"If Virgin was really serious about reducing the aviation industry's impact on the environment it would support calls for aircraft emissions to be included in the Climate Change Bill."
Green Party councillor and former chemist Andrew Boswell said: "Richard Branson is making a huge mistake backing biofuels.
"It means a huge amount of fuel we've got to produce."
Mr Boswell, who campaigns for the lobby group Biofuel Watch, said it was unsustainable to try and replace transport's share of fossil fuel consumption with biofuels - there is simply not enough arable land to grow fuel crops and food.
Sunday's flight may herald a new direction in aviation. But any massive change in the way we power our planes is unlikely, analysts say, to be just around the corner.
Amazon nuts help fuel first biofuel flight
Nigel Hunt, Reuters 24 Feb 08;
LONDON (Reuters) - Nuts picked from Amazon rainforests helped fuel the world's first commercial airline flight partly powered by renewable energy on Sunday.
A Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet flew from London to Amsterdam with one of its fuel tanks filled with a bio-jet blend including babassu oil and coconut oil. A Virgin Atlantic statement said the biofuel mix provided 25 percent of the fuel for the test flight.
The biofuels blend on the Virgin flight contained 20 percent neat biofuel and 80 percent conventional jet fuel. Virgin founder Richard Branson said tests had shown it was possible to fly with a 40 percent blend.
"Today marks a vital breakthrough for the whole airline industry," Branson told reporters in a hangar at Heathrow airport prior to the flight's departure.
Environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth said biofuels were a distraction in the fight to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and that related carbon savings would be negated by increased airline travel.
British billionaire Branson said it was unlikely the nut of the wild growing babassu palm would play a key role as airlines turn to renewable fuel sources to cut the industry's greenhouse gas emissions.
"We did not want to use biofuels such as corn oil which were competing with staple food sources," he said, adding he believed algae produced in places like sewage treatment farms were the most likely future source of renewable fuel for the airline industry.
Biofuels, which are currently mainly produced from crops such as grain, vegetable oils and sugar, are seen by advocates as a way to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
There has been concern, however, that an expansion in the area of crops grown for energy has helped drive up food prices, and some scientists have questioned the environmental benefits of so-called first generation biofuels.
Friends of the Earth said in a statement: "There is mounting evidence the carbon savings from these crop-based fuels will be small at best."
"Even if every plane leaving the UK was able to run on biofuels from tomorrow, any carbon savings would be wiped out in less than 10 years by the rapid growth of the aviation industry."
Many scientists believe so-called second generation biofuels, which could be made from products such as municipal waste, will provide more substantial environmental benefits without competing with food crops for land.
Branson, whose Virgin Group business spans an airline, a rail service, drinks, hotels and leisure, has committed to spending all the profits from his airline and rail business to combat global warming by cutting carbon emissions.
Last year, Virgin started to power some of its trains using a fuel containing 20 percent biodiesel produced mainly using British rapeseed oil blended with U.S. soybean oil and palm oil from the Far East.
(Additional reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Caroline Drees)
