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Alternative fuel research is a core tenet of Airbus’ initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of air transport, offering potential benefits such as reduced fuel burn and increased engine reliability and durability, as well as expanded payload-range performance.
Airbus believes that alternative fuels are a must for sustainable aviation growth and offer advantages over standard oil-derived jet fuel in terms of supply, price, diversity and eco-efficiency – and the company is continuously working with industry partners to fully explore their potential value to the aviation industry.
Bio-fuels of interest to Airbus include synthetic fuel from biomass (BTL), fast-growing “algae” and jatropha. The company also sees potential in alternative forms of existing aviation fuel.
Airbus anticipates the identification of promising kerosene and bio-fuel blends by 2010, with the possibility of alternative non-food supply sources (algae, jatropha) maturing by 2015. Looking at long-term potential, 25 per cent of all jet fuel could be alternative fuel by 2025 – with the possibility of bio-fuels comprising 30 per cent of that amount by 2030.
In collaboration with Shell International Petroleum and Rolls-Royce, Airbus marked a step towards the development of alternative fuel solutions with an A380 flight test in 2008, which utilised gas-to-liquid (GTL) kerosene. Synthesised through the Fischer-Tropsch process, its product is cleaner than the oil-derived jet fuel used with current commercial aircraft – resulting in lower emissions.
In September 2009, Airbus welcomed the development of a new standard by ASTM International, one of the largest voluntary standards-developing organisations in the world, for the use of synthetic jet fuel in commercial aviation. The standard provides criteria for the production, distribution and use of aviation turbine engine fuel produced from coal, natural gas or biomass using the Fischer-Tropsch process.
This new specification – which paves the way for 50 and eventually 100 per cent synthetic jet fuel approval – is a major step towards reducing aviation's environmental footprint and marks a milestone for Airbus’ alternative fuels roadmap.
The industry is committed to taking necessary steps for certification of viable alternative fuels, and has safe and effective distribution infrastructures already in place for the “drop-in” fuels that Airbus currently is researching with its own efforts and in cooperation across the industry.
The remaining issue is the large-scale availability and cost of such alternative fuels, not major technical concerns of their feasibility. The next step is to work towards political agreement on sustainability criteria, and gain the confirmation of regulatory preference for aviation bio-fuels.
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