LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) – A Virgin Atlantic passenger plane will take off from London to New York on Tuesday, fueled by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Aviation is trying to demonstrate the potential of low-carbon options to ensure safety. That future.
As the world decarbonizes, airlines are relying on fuel made from waste to reduce emissions by up to 70%, before electric and hydrogen air travel becomes a reality in the coming decades. This will allow the flight to continue.
The flight, operated by a Virgin Boeing 787 powered by Rolls-Royce (RR.L) Trent 1000 engines, will be the first time a commercial airline has flown 100% SAF long distance.
This follows a successful transatlantic crossing last week by a Gulfstream G600 business jet using the same fuel.
Virgin Atlantic billionaire Richard Branson, the airline’s chief executive Shai Weiss and UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper all depart London Heathrow Airport at 11:30pm Japan time. and will board a flight scheduled to arrive at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2:40 p.m. ET.
There will be no paying passengers or cargo on what Virgin Airlines calls its 100th flight, scheduled days before COP28 climate change talks begin in Dubai on Thursday.
SAF is already used in jet engines as part of a blend with conventional kerosene, but after successful ground trials Virgin and its partners Rolls-Royce, Boeing (BA.N) and BP (BP.L) and others have obtained permission to fly using the SAF. SAF only.
Aviation accounts for an estimated 2-3% of global carbon emissions. SAF is key to reducing these emissions, but it is expensive and Less than 0.1% Percentage of total jet fuel currently used worldwide.
Virgin Atlantic said the fuel used for Tuesday’s flight was made primarily from used cooking oil and waste animal fat, mixed with a small amount of synthetic aromatic kerosene made from waste corn. .
Many European airlines, including Virgin, IAG (ICAG.L)’s British Airways and Air France (AIRF.PA), aim to use 10% SAF by 2030, making the industry “net-zero” emissions. states that they want to achieve their goals. It depends on whether that share rises to 65% by 2050.
But given the small quantities of SAF and its high cost, currently about three to five times the cost of regular jet fuel, the 2030 goal looks daunting.
In October, the head of IAG (ICAG.L) warned that there was a more than 90% risk that the industry would not meet European Union obligations on SAF availability in 2025.
Environmental advocacy group Stay Grounded called the flight a “greenwashing diversion.”
“[Fuel alternatives]are far from scalable in the timeframe needed to avert climate collapse. What is urgently needed is to reduce the burning of fossil jet fuel,” said Magdalena Hewieser, president of the network. “That means reducing flights wherever possible.” .
The airline industry hopes the Virgin Atlantic flight will highlight the need for governments to provide financial support to make SAF more accessible.
Virgin said it would drain and test the SAF from the flight’s engines before returning to service using regular fuel.
Reporting: Sarah Young and Joanna Plucinska Editing: Tomasz Janowski
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