The Green Challenge

There is no silver bullet, it’s more like silver buckshot.” That is the assessment of Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative executive director Richard Altman on the many feedstock and process solutions out there for aviation biofuels.

“Silver buckshot means there are lots of solutions and what’s going to be right in terms of process and feedstock will vary from country to country,” Altman said.

But the industry is going to need some magic bullets if it is to successfully shoot down the growing tide of complaints from the environmental movement which now has a laundry list of criticisms of the industry’s biofuel push.

The latest came in October when the Friends of the Earth (FoE) dismissed the UK’s first commercial flight run on biofuel as a “hollow PR stunt that paves the way for rainforest destruction.”

Thomson Airways was the first UK airline to use “sustainable” biofuel with a Boeing 757-200 flight from Birmingham airport to Arrecife in Lanzarote.

Thomson Airways uses biofuel supplied by Dutch-based SkyNRG, which is advised by an independent sustainability board consisting of two leading non-government organizations and a government scientific institute.

But FoE hit back and said that SkyNRG was using virgin plant oil from the US and babassu nuts from Brazil, which “are in short supply.”

In a statement, Friends of the Earth said that Thomson parent company TUI was looking into soya and palm oil for its fleet, which are “known drivers of rainforest deforestation,” FoE biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter told Reuters.

“Biofuels won’t make flying any greener—their production is wrecking rainforests, pushing up food prices, and causing yet more climate-changing emissions,” Richter said.

But the Thomson Airways flight did win support from the UK government with the country’s Aviation Minister Theresa Villiers saying that Thomson’s push into biofuel-powered flights “chimes with government policy.”

An Emerging Market  

SkyNRG is a joint venture of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, North Sea Group and Spring Associates and its mission is to help create a sustainable future for aviation through developing a sustainable production chain for alternative aviation fuels. SkyNRG MD Dirk Kronemeyer says that the market for these fuels is just emerging. “SkyNRG is taking the first steps to make it a reality. Doing nothing is not an option,” Kronemeyer said.

SkyNRG notes that air travel has become an integral part of everyday life and there will be air travel, now and in the future, as it fulfills an important social function in today’s global society.

“The aviation industry acknowledges the urgency for emission reduction and they also know there is a need to switch to alternative, renewable resources as fossil fuels are depleting. Demand-side reduction is a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption and related green house gas emissions. But it does not offer a complete solution to aviation-related emissions, let alone energy security. In addressing the challenge to replace fossil kerosene in a sustainable way, aviation has no alternative but liquid hydrocarbons from bio-based (waste) sources, SkyNRG says.

“We share the concerns of NGOs and other stakeholders when it comes to bio-energy resources. We believe in the notion that the impact of bioenergy on social and environmental issues may be positive or negative depending on local conditions and the design and implementation of specific projects as outlined in SRREN 2011, [Special Report on Renewable Energy Services and Climate]” Kronemeyer said.

When done in the wrong way, Kronemeyer says biomass and biofuel production systems can have a variety of negative impacts on eco- and social systems. Greenhouse gas emissions are just part of the problem.

“On the other side, well-managed projects can have a profoundly positive effect on ecosystems and social systems alike and can include: enhanced biodiversity, soil carbon increases and improved soil productivity, significant greenhouse reductions, less dependency on fossil energy sources, reduced erosion (top soil and nutrient run off) effects, stimulation of local employment and strengthening of local, regional and national economies,” Kronemeyer said. 

SkyNRG insists its focus is on this positive side of biofuel development. “To make the right decisions now and in the future, SkyNRG is advised by an independent Sustainability Board, consisting of the Dutch wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL), Solidaridad, and the Copernicus Institute of the University of Utrecht. Next to that, SkyNRG acknowledges the need for certification of sustainable jet fuel and therefore actively supports the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.”

The Right Transition 

But SkyNRG recognizes biofuels are in a transition. “The best choices today are likely to be replaced by improved choices in the near future. We have chosen to start with used cooking oil, a waste stream, as main feedstock. We know the available volumes are limited and that it can never replace total fossil kerosene consumption. And neither can vegetable oils. We see current options as a first step in the right direction and we are exploring and supporting future alternatives both in feedstock and technology.”

 “First steps are critical to get things going. The first launching flights, made by carriers that are stepping up to make the difference, are essential to engage industry, governments, customers and other stakeholders. We welcome Thomson Airways to join us on the road towards a sustainable future for aviation,” Kronemeyer said.

Some industry figures believe that many environmental NGOs make wild statements to get headlines in the general media. 

“Anyone can do that and they frequently do. This is purely a mechanism to raise funds from their core constituency by speaking negatively of an industry that their base of supporters consider to be elitist (aviation) and insensitive to the environment,” one consultant said. 

The problem is that there is no doubt that some other industries are sourcing biofuels by destroying forest and food crops and aviation is being conveniently bundled with the “bad guys” by certain elements of the radical environmental left.

Cathay Pacific COO Ivan Chu, addressing the Greener Skies conference in Hong Kong in September, also warned about the environmental movement motives while acknowledging that “there are still question marks” over the true sustainability of certain feed stocks. 

“We have seen how willing the green lobby is to actively campaign against airlines and suppliers promoting their usage, even if the reality is rather different. As an industry, we need to take on these arguments and demonstrate our commitment to finding alternatives to jet fuel that make economic sense and that will make a real contribution to emissions reduction,” Chu said.

“New technologies continue to offer even greater improvements both on the ground and in the air. Sustainable biofuels carry a price premium which renders them uncompetitive at the moment versus conventional jet fuel,” he said.

Speaking at the same conference, IATA DG Tony Tyler expressed optimism that biofuels could be a game changer, but added that challenges have to be addressed. “Despite the quick progress to date, some major hurdles still remain, such as bringing big oil onboard and getting the policy framework of fiscal and legal incentives to encourage their commercialization,” Tyler said.

Tyler said the industry “needs positive economic measures that result from strategic government decisions to support the growth of green economies—including aviation.”

Tyler cites the recent partnership between Air China, Petro China and Boeing in a biofuels program as an example of the way forward. “The combined resources of these companies make this an important step forward. Governments in the region should seize the opportunity to develop sustainable biofuels industries that could generate new economic opportunity across the region. It’s time for governments to seize this fantastic opportunity to stimulate the growth of green economies,” Tyler said.

Biofuel Projects 

The biofuel producers, meanwhile, are indicating their commitment to the industry and showing no shortage of ideas and collaborative projects that could help them produce more than 3.7 billion liters a year by 2020—equivalent to 10% of US aviation fuel if pumped as a 50:50 blend. Altman said that a poll in Biofuels Digest showed about 40% of respondents believed the target was achievable.

Altman said he is encouraged by the wide variety of projects in the pipeline, with decentralization, tailoring and regional feed stocks being the major drivers.

Boeing, Embraer and the Inter-American Development Bank announced in September that they will jointly fund a sustainability analysis of producing renewable jet fuel sourced from Brazilian sugarcane. The groundbreaking study will evaluate environmental and market conditions associated with the use of renewable jet fuel produced by Amyris and the World Wildlife Fund will serve as an independent reviewer and advisor.

Emeryville, Calif. based Amyris has developed genetic engineering and screening technologies that enable it to modify the way microorganisms, or microbes, process sugar.

The technology can convert plant-sourced sugars such as those from sugarcane or sweet sorghum into target molecules, such as farnesene, which forms the basis for a wide range of products including fuel.

Scheduled for completion in early 2012, the study will include a complete lifecycle analysis of the emissions associated with Amyris’s renewable jet fuel, including indirect land use change and effects.

In addition says Boeing, the study will include benchmarking of cane-derived renewable jet fuel against major sustainability standards, including the Bonsucro, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels and the IDB Biofuel Scorecard.

According to Boeing VP environment and aviation policy Billy Glover “collaborative research into the cane-to-jet pathway is important for diversifying aviation’s fuel supplies.”

It is clear, however, that as aviation widens its search for silver buckshot, it runs the serious risks of being linked unfavourably with illegal slash and burn activities associated with other industries that will once again make it an easy target for critics.