British carrier Virgin Atlantic on Tuesday announced a strategic tieup with energy firm LanzaTech to develop in India a low carbon aviation fuel from steel that, the airline claims, will have just "half the carbon footprint of the standard fossil fuel alternative".
According to Virgin Atlantic, the "breakthrough aviation fuel technology" will see waste gases from industrial steel production being captured, fermented and chemically converted using Swedish Biofuels technology for use as a jet fuel.
India, which is among the world's largest steel producers, will be one of the first countries where the fuel will be produced as Lanzatech and partners develop facilities there and with three years and Virgin Atlantic hopes to fly Delhi to London Heathrow on the new fuel sometime in 2014.
The "revolutionary fuel production" will enable airlines to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by reusing gases that would otherwise have been emitted directly into the atmosphere and promote sustainable industrial growth, as the process enables manufacturing plants to recycle their waste carbon emissions, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.
Virgin President Richard Branson has termed the partnership with LanzaTech a breakthrough in aviation fuel technology and a major step toward radically reducing our carbon footprint. The technology is currently being piloted in New Zealand and following successful implementation, a wider roll-out could include operations in the UK and the rest of the world.
LanzaTech estimates the process can apply to 65 % of the world's steel mills, allowing the fuel to be rolled out for worldwide commercial use. The energy company believes this process can also apply to metals processing and chemical industries, growing its potential considerably further. Jet fuel constitutes a major part of airlines' operations costs.
Promoters say that with oil running out, it is important that new fuel solutions are sustainable. The steel industry has the potential to deliver over 15 billion gallons of jet fuel annually, they say, terming the new technology scalable, sustainable and commercially viable at a cost comparable to conventional jet fuel. The development will take the airline well beyond its pledge of a 30% carbon reduction per passenger km by 2020, they add.
The next generation technology overcomes the complex land use issues associated with some earlier generation biofuels and detailed analysis suggests the fuel will produce around a 50% saving in life cycle carbon emissions, maintains LanzaTech.
Airline CO2 emissions
International aviation emissions account for 2% to 3% of all global greenhouse gas discharges. This year around 650 million tonnes of global manmade CO2 is estimated to have been emitted while carrying 2.8 billion passengers and 46 mt of cargo. By 2050 the industry aspires to carry 16 billion passengers and 400 mt of cargo, resulting in some 320 mt of CO2 emissions.
The EU has already proposed an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a carbon emissions tax, on airlines flying in its skies from January 2012, much to the chagrin of India, China and other countries, including the US. Airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and manufacturers are committed to improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% annually to 2020, capping net carbon emissions from 2020 with carbon neutral growth and cutting net emissions in half by 2050, compared to 2005.
