Airbus has joined a consortium including Virgin Australia to study a new pathway to produce sustainable aviation fuels.
Eucalyptus mallee trees, grown in Western Australia’s wheat belt, are sustainably harvested and converted to a feedstock for refining into alternative aviation fuel via a process called Pyrolysis.
Mallee is indigenous to Australia, adapting to an environment where it helps return salt-affected land to a productive state.
In a statement, Airbus said growing these trees to make alternative fuels encourages large scale planting, "which is expected to bring a range of environmental and social benefits to farmers and rural communities".
Airbus’ role includes supporting the approval and certification process so that Pyrolysis based fuels can be used for the first time in commercial aviation.
The project objective is to have a pilot alternative fuel production plant operating in Australia in the next year.
by TravelMole Asia
