Airbus teams up with ENN on biofuel flight project

Airbus has pledged to work with bio-energy company ENN group in a bid to look at the possibility of using algae-based biofuel for flights. 

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV, the parent company of Airbus SAS, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see them work together to promote the use of biofuel in Chinese aviation, Xinhua reported.

Airbus announced on Wednesday that it is aiming to test out the algae jet fuel in China in 2013, with the company to support the fuel tests and the use of alternative fuels in commercial flights. This will come after a Sino-US feasibility study of the biofuel is completed.

The partners are to work on projects including examining algae oil technology, testing oil and developing ways to look at the environmental, economic and social effects that it could potentially have.

It is unsurprising that the company has chosen to work with ENN, as it has already developed a plant which produces algae-based oil which is currently able to generate ten tons of the biofuel per year. From 2013 it is aiming to increase its capability in a bid to meet the needs of flights fuelled by biofuel.

Jean Botti, chief technical officer of EADS, explained that it will be a number of years before the biofuel is fully developed, because it currently costs a significant amount.

"Now we need to demonstrate that the industrial production of algae-based biofuel is both ecologically and economically viable," he said.

Experts have warned that the difficulty with this type of fuel is likely to be making it commercially successful, due to its high price tag.

Algae oil is thought to be one of the most promising biofuels currently being developed for use in the aviation industry. It is extracted, processed and refined from certain species of algae.