Biofuel Future

Stephen Pope

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

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aviation biofuels, once dismissed as unrealistic, are now a critical focus for the industry due to rising and volatile oil prices, increasing global energy demand, and the imperative for carbon-neutral growth and environmental sustainability.
Significant progress has been made, including the commercial approval of 50:50 biofuel blends for turbine aircraft that perform as well as conventional jet fuel, with a strong commitment to developing sustainable, "drop-in" fuels from non-food sources like algae, waste fats, and arid-land plants.
Despite current high costs and the immense challenge of scaling production, the industry is investing in technology and infrastructure to achieve economies of scale for second-generation biofuels, aiming to eventually make them cost-competitive and replace petroleum-based fuels without impacting global 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.