Virgin Atlantic is partnering with a New Zealand company to develop a greener aviation fuel.
Lanzatech’s low carbon fuel has half the carbon footprint of a standard fossil fuel alternative, due to the process used to create it.
Waste gases from steel factories, which would otherwise have been released directly into the atmosphere, are collected and converted into jet fuel, using Swedish Biofuels technology.
The process is currently being tested out at a factory in New Zealand, with a larger demonstration facility due to be commissioned in Shanghai later this year.
Under current plans, the first commercial scale production of the fuel will be in place in China by 2014.
Virgin Atlantic will be the first airline to test out the aviation fuel, with a demo flight planned in the next 12 to 18 months.
Virgin has committed to using the fuel on its flights from Shanghai and Delhi to London Heathrow within two to three years.
Sir Richard Branson, Virgin’s president, said the partnership with Lanzatech is “a major step towards radically reducing our carbon footprint”.
"With oil running out, it is important that new fuel solutions are sustainable, and with the steel industry alone able to deliver over 15 billion gallons of jet fuel annually, the potential is very exciting,” he added.
“This new technology is scalable, sustainable and can be commercially produced at a cost comparable to conventional jet fuel.”
Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech’s CEO, said: “This technology will enable airlines to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by reusing gases that would otherwise have been emitted directly into the atmosphere.
“It promotes sustainable industrial growth, as the process enables manufacturing plants to recycle their waste carbon emissions.”
www.virgin-atlantic.com www.lanzatech.co.nz