British Airways Biofuel Plant Set For Liftoff

December 8th, 2012 by Adam Johnston

Airline giant British Airways earlier this week announced that, under the GreenSky project in London, it has signed an exclusive agreement to build a state of the art biofuel site on an undetermined site.

Once the facility is up and running, the plant could turn 500,000 tons of garbage into 50,000 tons of green airplane fuel, thanks to Solena’s synthesis gas technology that turns it into a liquid hydrocarbon. After the waste gets turned into a gas, it will then get treated through Fischer-Tropsch reactors, which are patented by Oxford Catalyst.

Image Credit: British Airways Boeing 777 AndrewC75 / Some rights reserved

The new plant is all a part of the goals for the airline to have “Carbon Neutral” growth from 2020, while British Airlines Environmental Head Jonathon Counsell could make up 2% of the company’s fuel.

Meanwhile, according to one key official, expect more of these projects to heat up in the near future as the race to make flying more sustainable becomes important. Greenbiz.com reports:

“Dr Jeremy Tomkinson, chief executive at NNFCC, which has providing technical consultancy on the GreenSky project, said he expected many new plants to be built in the coming years.

“‘Biofuels are the only low carbon alternative to fossil fuels in the aviation sector and as a result GreenSky London is likely to be the first of many similar projects built in the years to come,’ he said. ‘Every new market needs a pioneer and it is pleasing to see the U.K. take a leading role in its development.'”

British Airways, which is already committing $500 million over ten years to buy the fuel, is just another in the growing list of airlines and other commercial aircraft carriers which are looking to make the air transportation industry more sustainable. Other well-known companies taking the dip include: KLM, United Airlines, and Lufthansa.

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Tags: Aviation Renewable fuels, british airways, British Airways Biofuels, Europe Aviation Biofuels, green airplane fuel, GreenSky, London, Solena Biofuels

About the Author

Adam Johnston Is currently studying at the School of the Environment Professional Development program in Renewable Energy from the University of Toronto. Adam graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a three-year B.A. combined major in Economics and Rhetoric, Writing & Communications. Adam also writes for Solar Love and also owns his own part time tax preparation business. His eventual goal is to be a cleantech policy analyst, and is currently sharpening his skills as a renewable energy writer. You can follow him on Twitter @adamjohnstonwpg or at www.adammjohnston.wordpress.com.