Qatar Airways heralds biofuel programme

Qatar Airways plans to develop new sources of biofuels in partnership with aerospace and energy firms.

Qatar Airways announced yesterday it plans to develop new sources of biofuels in partnership with aerospace and energy firms. The plans follow the airline's successful test flight in October using synthetic jet fuel made partly from natural gas - the first commercial passenger flight to do so. Airlines face pressure to lower their carbon dioxide emissions to slow climate change.

The airline is linking up with Airbus, the Qatar Science and Technology Park and Qatar Petroleum to develop the programme, to be named the Qatar Advanced Biofuel Platform. The programme was created after a seven-month feasibility study on sustainable biomass-to-liquid jet fuels with Verno Systems of the US. Biomass sources may include algae and plants, although the airline has not specified its feedstocks.

The study looked at all available sources of biofuels that would not affect the food or fresh water supply chain, Qatar Airways said. The company will now jointly carry out engineering and economic analysis and move into the development of a sustainable jet fuel. The airline's October flight was part of its separate "gas-to-liquids" programme being developed largely to help gas-rich Qatar market its supplies to a wider customer base. "While others talk, we take action," said Akbar al Baker, the chief executive of Qatar Airways.

Tom Enders, the president and chief executive of Airbus, based in France, said the partnership should help "real progress in finding sustainable fuel alternatives". Alternative fuel sources is a growing issue as the airline industry has committed itself to sharp reductions in carbon dioxide output to pre-empt taxes and regulation from governments, and to lower their operating costs. Fuel is a major expense for airlines. As the price of oil climbed to record levels in 2008, it represented more than 30 per cent of operating costs.

Airlines contribute 3 per cent of annual greenhouse emissions, but this is expected to increase to 5 per cent by the middle of this century. OPEC said in last year's World Oil Outlook that demand for jet fuel and kerosene would rise to 8.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2030 from 6.5 million bpd in 2008. Each tonne of fuel burnt produces more than three tonnes of carbon dioxide. Global aviation emissions last year decreased by 6.5 per cent to 623 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, as airlines temporarily grounded aeroplanes and reduced flight frequencies because of the economic downturn, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

The IATA is behind an initiative for airlines to achieve a 1.5 per cent average annual improvement in fuel efficiency by 2020, stabilise emissions with carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and cut emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, compared with 2005. @Email:[e-mail]