Air New Zealand and Boeing will test a jumbo jet powered in part by oil extracted from jatropha trees. The Air New Zealand flight, scheduled to depart Auckland Dec. 3, will use a 50-50 combination of jet fuel and jatropha nut oil harvested in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. Rob Fyfe, chief executive of the airline, called it “the next logical step in our efforts to further save fuel and reduce aircraft emissions.” If successful, it would be the second flight to use biofuels this year. In February, Virgin Atlantic completed a flight using 20 percent biofuel made from coconut oil and babassu palm oil. Environmental groups called the New Zealand campaign helpful, but cited concerns, including the impact on food supplies and habitat destruction. “The amount of jatropha that would be needed to power the world’s entire aviation sector cannot be produced in anything like a sustainable way,” said Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace UK’s climate change campaign, “and even if large volumes could be grown, planes are an incredibly wasteful way of using it.”
New Zealand Airline To Test Jumbo Jet Fueled By Jatropha Nuts
More From E360
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion
-
Solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
-
FORESTS
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging
-
OPINION
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions
-
CONSERVATION
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science
-
Energy
China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon
-
Solutions
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise