Airbus has joined forces with China’s state-run oil and gas company Sinopec to develop a new biofuel in China.
A new fuel known as ‘1# bio-jetfuel’ will be produced by Sinopec at a brand new refinery in Hangzhou. The refinery is one of the few in the world that has the capacity to produce aviation fuel from biomass at a large scale. Airbus said it would help in the selection of sustainable feedstocks, and in getting the new fuel certified in the EU and US.
“Bio-jetfuel is becoming increasingly important in aviation and the energy market. It will help aviation grow sustainably and demand for fuel increase. Sinopec has developed its own technology for producing aviation fuel from biomass and waste oil and has already produced aviation fuel meeting international standards. Sinopec is assisting CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) in the airworthiness certification process and is proud to be collaborating with Airbus and other partners in the push for alternative aviation fuels,” said Dai Houliang, Senior Vice President of Sinopec.
Airbus stated that it would work to speed up the biofuel process by using entirely Chinese supply chains.
“Biofuels are a crucial part of the roadmap to meet aviation ambitious CO2 targets. We are privileged to be working with our Chinese partners to establish a domestic value chain in China which is 100% Chinese,” said Laurence Barron, President of Airbus China.
Airbus currently supports alternative fuel projects in Australia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
