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British Airways has partnered up with Rolls-Royce to test biofuels in its jets, a move which represents a huge step towards using a more environmentally fuel. BA has scheduled next year a series of large-scale ground tests of various types of fuels made from plants. BA head of environment Jonathan Counsell said the carrier is ready to put one of its jumbo’s engines to the test and was discussing with aero-engine maker Rolls about carrying trials at its facilities.
Many carriers, including Virgin Atlantic, have already flight tested biofuels in recent years. The fuel producers have been claiming they can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by as much as 80%. Last week Dutch airline KLM undertook the first test flight using biofuel-powered with passengers onboard.
Counsell said BA would carry out flight tests and that the scheduled ground tests would prove to be more valuable. He said that the tests until now have been only on short flights but the airline plans to run the engine for long periods and put every kind of operation to the test.
BA will purchase as much as 240 tonnes of four types of biofuels for its trials. The information stemming from the BA tests is likely to help accelerate the process for getting the fuels certified for commercial use. According to Honeywell subsidiary UOP representative Jennifer Holmgren, said regulatory approval is likely to arrive near the end of next year. UOP is an American group which manufactured the fuels used in recent test flights.
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