New Challenge Backed by Salesforce and Industry Leaders Aims to Accelerate Sustainable Aviation

Salesforce, Airbus, Breakthrough Energy, Boom Supersonic, Deloitte, Eni, JetBlue Ventures, Qantas Airways Limited, and World Energy launched a call for ecopreneurs to submit innovative solutions to support the decarbonization of the aviation sector. This initiative is a collaboration between the First Movers Coalition (FMC) and UpLink to scale and commercialize innovations in sustainable aviation.   Why it’s important: While air travel plays a vital role in connecting people and driving the global economy, the aviation industry contributes to roughly 2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.  Driving the news: The Sustainable…

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Airbus A330 MRTT performs landmark air-to-air sustainable aviation refuelling mission

One-hundred years since the first ever air-to-air refuelling of an aircraft, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) has carried out a landmark in-flight refuelling exercise with blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using an Airbus Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Voyager aircraft. On a crisp Spring morning in the Oxfordshire countryside, the RAF’s VIP Voyager – emblazoned with Union Flag tail and gold-lettered ‘United Kingdom’ livery – taxied on to the Brize Norton runway filled with 43% SAF. On board were UK Business and Trade Minister Nusrat Ghani MP, members of…

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The UK’s Airborne Laboratory flies with sustainable aviation fuel

The FAAM Airborne Laboratory, which is owned by NERC, has used a blend of sustainable aviation fuel for the first time this week. FAAM, which operates a specially adapted BAE-146 aircraft fitted with scientific instruments, used the new fuel on a routine crew training flight in the south of England. Sustainable aviation fuel has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in aviation by up to 80%, compared to jet fuel sourced from crude oil. It is made from 100% renewable waste, bio-oils and residual raw materials, like recovered cooking…

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Airbus’ most popular aircraft takes to the skies with 100% sustainable aviation fuel

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a key element for the future reduction of air transportation’s carbon footprint, and Airbus is continuing its testing of this bio-jet fuel with a new VOLCAN flight test campaign using the best-selling A320 Family aircraft. An A321neo took off recently from Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France with both of its engines powered by 100% unblended SAF. Since the end of February, the aircraft is being closely followed by a data-collecting aeroplane with the mission to gather information on the non-CO2 emissions and the creation of…

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Virent Bio-Based Fuel Used in Third Milestone Demonstration Flight Powered With 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Virent’s plant-based synthesized aromatic kerosene recently helped power an Emirates Airline demonstration flight, the first in the Middle East and North Africa to use 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in one engine and traditional jet fuel in the other. Virent, a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary, used its BioForming® process to produce the synthesized aromatic kerosene (SAK), a critical component that made the 100% SAF possible. “Virent’s technology converts widely available, plant-based sugars into the compounds that make it possible to fuel a jet engine without the need to blend SAF…

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