Biofuel Future

Stephen Pope

Friday, January 20, 2012 at 10:27 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aviation biofuels, once considered a fantasy, are now a critical focus for the industry, driven by volatile and rising oil prices, and the need to address environmental concerns like carbon emissions.
Significant progress has been made in developing "drop-in" biofuels from diverse non-food sources (e.g., algae, waste fats), with initial blends already approved for commercial flight and demonstrating no negative impact on engine performance or safety.
Despite technological advancements and industry backing, major challenges persist, primarily reducing the high production costs of these new fuels and ensuring their scalable and sustainable production without competing with food supplies.

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It wasn’t many years ago that the idea of using biofuels for flight was dismissed out of hand as a utopian fantasy. The conventional wisdom said we’d never be able to produce enough aviation biofuel to make a difference, and even if we could it wouldn’t matter — biomass-sourced fuel would wreak havoc on the delicate internal workings of turbofan and piston engines with steep penalties in power and efficiency.

Fast-forward to 2012, and we’re on the verge of an enormous leap ahead as the industry ramps up aviation biofuel production to levels that will indeed have a palpable impact.