In a small but significant step toward sustainable aviation, British Airways announced a commitment to buy the 50,000-ton output of a biofuel plant in East London at market prices over a 10-year period, says Forbes. That translates to about $500 million and enough fuel volume to power all of BA’s flights from London City Airport.
The biofuel will be produced through a high-temperature gasification process, and will also result in annual production of 50,000 tons of biodiesel, bionaptha, and 20 MW of electricity.
The deal comes as a result of a 2010 deal BA made with U.S.-based Solena to construct a biofuel plant in East London by 2014, which is expected to be operational and create 150 jobs by 2015.
Solena will lead plant construction and handle biogas production. The Oxford Catalysts Group/Velocys will be responsible for the reactors used to create the liquid fuel itself. Engineering and project management firm Fluor will handle frontend plant engineering and design.
Once up and running, the facility is projected to produce 16 million gallons of jet fuel per year from 500,000 tons of waste diverted from landfills.
See the original Forbes story here