All GCC:
Etihad Airways flies first flight using fuel made in the UAE from plants grown in saltwater
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/01/20190124-etihad.htmlThe Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), a non-profit entity established by Masdar Institute that is part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, announced the world’s first commercial flight using locally produced sustainable fuel on an Etihad Airways Boeing 787 powered by GE’s GEnx-1B engines. (Earlier post.)
The flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam marked a milestone in the development of a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions. The initiative also addresses food security in the UAE through the farming of seafood as a core element in the process.
The SBRC partners have been working together to prove the concept of a comprehensive value chain that is centered around the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS). This is a synergistic industrial platform that supports the aviation sector, the oil and gas industry, food production and the creation of a new agricultural alternative in the UAE.
Sustainable fuel for the flight was derived from oil in Salicornia plants, which were grown on the two-hectare SEAS farm in Masdar City. The SEAS is the world’s first desert ecosystem designed to produce fuel and food in saltwater. Fish and shrimp raised at the facility provide nutrients for the plants as well as contribute to the UAE’s food production. . . .
Gevo joins SFO consortium to advance sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/01/20190123-gevo.htmlGevo has signed on to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a group of eight airlines and certain fuel producers to work cooperatively on expanding the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). (Earlier post.) . . .
SFO is working on a study to identify the necessary supply chain and infrastructure required to make this expansion of SAF at the airport a reality, and is preparing an implementation plan to do so. SFO is positioning for increased interest in the California market for SAF producers and suppliers, given the additional incentives likely to be made available, through a California Air Resources Board ruling allowing the opt-in inclusion of SAF in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). This is the first sub-national government to offer any incentive for the benefits provided by SAF.
The four airlines—United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Cathay Pacific—represent nearly 70% of all flights at SFO, while the four fuel producers include SFO’s two primary suppliers, Chevron Corporation and Shell Oil Company along with Neste and LanzaTech, Inc.
Together with SFO Fuel Company, LLC, the Airport’s Fuel Consortium, Gevo and these partners will strive to increase SAF supply globally and at SFO.
Airlines at SFO currently use more than 1 billion gallons of jet fuel annually. If SAF suppliers are able to increase global supply from the current 5 million gallons per year to 500 million gallons per year, the use of SAF could prevent nearly 4.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year—equivalent to taking more than one million cars off the roads. . . .