During the ongoing international exhibition in Zhuhai, “Airshow China 2012”, The European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS), a parent company of aviation major Airbus, signed a contract with ENN, one of the largest Chinese companies in the natural gas and biofuel industry.
They agreed to cooperate in the production and testing of algal aircraft fuel, which will be sold on the Chinese aviation market.
EADS will be heavily involved in the first phase of the project. They will assess the Algae Oil Technology and its economic, environment and societal impact.
Jean Botti, chief technology officer of EADS states that producing this type of aviation bio-fuel, has great potential. It is both ecologically and economically feasible, especially given that it is proven to be technically possible to power aircrafts with Algae Oil.
According to the chief technical officer of ENN- Zhongxue Gan, this technology is part of the Chinese Carbon recycle program, because clean energy is produced from industrial waste. Considering that mictroalgae multiply rapidly, they create 30 times more organic substance than regular crops used for biofuel. Furthermore, it does not interfere with agriculture and algae growth is not restricted to any special conditions.
ENN is responsible for the high-tech microalgae production and refining plant.
Testing the use of Algae Oil is planned to start in 2013, when ENN will carry out test flights using the new bio product.
When the mission is accomplished successfully, the production will be expanded with the intention that this initiative will bring the amount of carbon emissions down to zero.
The partners will, in the second phase, will carry out test flights using ENN’s Algae Oil, expected to start in 2013.
Via: Energy Business Review, Avionews
