Following up on the last blog post about AirBus’s vision of a sustainable future for aviation, we hear that German airline Lufthansa has entered a partnership with Algae.Tec to build a large-scale algae-based jet fuel production facility in Europe.
The agreement is the first step in a long-term cooperation to produce aviation kerosene from crude algae on an industrial scale.
Details about the size of the plant have not been made available yet, but the plant will be located near an industrial source of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the feedstock necessary to grow algae.
Lufthansa will arrange all the funding for the project. Algae.Tec will receive licence fees and profits from the Project, which will be managed by the company. As part of the deal, Lufthansa commits to a long-term purchase agreement of at least 50 percent of the crude algae oil produced at an agreed price. Besides, Algae oil produced by the project must always meet the EU Renewable Energy Directive (“EU-RED”) and will have to be certified according to ISCC-Standard.
The agreement expands on the MOU signed between the two parties in January 2012. It is subject to final Board approval of both parties and the final sign off for the algae oil conversion into aviation kerosene. A final feasibility report will be completed once the first site has been selected.
Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.
