Production of biofuels a challenge to aviation

Scaling up the production of biofuels in Australia remains the key challenge to the fuel being fully adopted by the aviation in the industry, according to The Register.

According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's and New Zealand's aviation could fully rely on biofuels by 2050, as long as supplies can be maintained.

German carrier Lufthansa has recently announced that it will be cutting its biofuel use after the airline made over a thousand successful flights using the fuel due to supplier issues. The suitability, availability, sustainability and certification of raw materials is seen as a major hurdle to biofuel usage across the globe.

In Australia, northern territories in and around Queensland have been identified as potential areas for production. The schemes are required to find production sources that can coexist with the grazing and cropping activities in the north, which could include grasses and short-rotation trees.

A recent report from Boeing and CSIRO suggested that local aviation biofuel industry could cut $AU2 billion from the country’s aviation fuel imports.

Posted by Claire Manning