A partnership to study the use of sustainable biofuels for use in commercial aviation was launched today (15th May) by Honeywell. The partners in the project include UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, Honeywell Aerospace, Airbus, JetBlue Airways, and International Aero Engines. According to Honeywell the effort will focus on developing and testing renewable energy technology to convert biofeedstocks to commercial aviation fuels, with specific focus on "second-generation" feedstocks such as algae which do not compete with food or water resources.

"Biofuels hold tremendous potential to meet growing fuel demand while reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions," said Jennifer Holmgren, director of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business for UOP. "This partnership brings together a range of aviation and process technology expertise to study and verify the best path toward sustainable use of biofuels in aviation."

UOP, a leading developer of refining technology, has already developed process technology to convert natural oils and greases to military jet fuel as part of a project funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The process technology produces "green" jet fuel that is a drop-in replacement for traditional kerosene-based jet fuel and meets all the critical performance specifications for flight. This technology will also be viable for use in the production of jet fuel for commercial jets. UOP is developing a range of biofuels technologies in addition to jet fuel and has already commercialized EcofiningTM process technology to produce green diesel from biofeedstocks.

"Honeywell is working alongside key customers to find innovative solutions to meet passenger and operator demands for higher standards in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Greg Albert, Honeywell Aerospace Vice President for Airbus programs. "We believe this joint effort, along with Honeywell's advanced technology solutions in Air Traffic Management, have the potential to significantly decrease pollutants."