Air New Zealand to test Jatropha Plant as Alternative Fuel Source

Air New Zealand has said it expects to use at least one million barrels of environmentally sustainable fuel annually by 2013.

Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe said the airline is growing increasingly confident that commercial quantities of environmentally sustainable fuels that meet all the airline's stringent criteria will become available over the next few years.

"Air New Zealand is absolutely committed to being at the forefront of testing environmentally sustainable fuels for use in aviation and we are confident that our hard work with partners like Boeing together with the efforts of many of our peers will see a step change sooner than many people realise," Mr Fyfe said.

"This fundamental shift in fuel options should be embraced by the industry and we aim to see at least ten percent of our total annual needs coming from environmentally sustainable fuels by 2013. Studies have already shown that sustainable fuels can lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions with a 40-to-50% lower carbon footprint on a life-cycle basis."

Air New Zealand's next step in leading the global pursuit of proving and commercialising sustainable fuels for use in air travel will be the world's first flight test on a large passenger aircraft using fuel sourced from the plant jatropha.

The Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 Rolls Royce powered test flight is expected to take place in Auckland in the last quarter of this year subject to final regulatory approvals and fuel testing by the engine manufacturer.

Jatropha is a plant that grows to approximately three metres high and produces seed that contain inedible lipid oil that is used to produce fuel. Each seed produces between 30 and 40% of its mass in oil and jatropha can be grown in a range of difficult conditions, including arid and non-arable areas.

The jatropha oil Air New Zealand is sourcing for refining for its test flight comes from South Eastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) and India. It was sourced from seeds grown on environmentally sustainable plantations.

Air New Zealand's criteria for sourcing the jatropha oil was the land was neither forest land nor virgin grassland within the previous two decades. The quality of the soil and climate is such that the land is not suitable for the vast majority of food crops. Furthermore, the plantations are rain-fed and not mechanically irrigated.

"Jatropha satisfies all our criteria and furthermore it is likely to be available in the necessary commercial quantities to meet our needs within five years. We have already had offers from organisations in Asia and Africa willing to guarantee enough supply to meet our 2013 target," said Mr Fyfe. "These present particularly exciting opportunities when placed against a backdrop of jet fuel prices that have recently been as high as US$174 a barrel and a cost for jatropha that is at least 20 to 30% cheaper."

Mr Fyfe did concede that jatropha is unlikely to be the only fuel that Air New Zealand is involved in testing.

"Algae presents some extremely exciting possibilities for the aviation industry and around the world hundreds of scientists are working to crack the process of turning it into commercial quantities of jet fuel. Some of the best brains are here in New Zealand and we hope to be able to work with them and other supply partners as we strive to do our part to ensure that Air New Zealand and our nation make tangible steps towards improving our environment."

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