Page 44 - World Airnews Magazine March 2021

THE OF THE
SAF FUTURE

FIRST SUSTAINABLE FUEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

FLIGHT FOR KLM

breaking in combining carbon capture with gen for the process eats up large amounts
solar and wind power to produce a fully of power, making its industrialisation a

ir France-KLM’s Dutch arm sustainable kerosene substitute. major challenge. Fuel for the KLM flight was

Aoperated a passenger fl ight from “The introduction of sustainable aviation produced in a Shell lab using carbon dioxide

captured from Europe’s biggest oil refinery
Amsterdam to Madrid that the carrier said fuel is very important to us,” KLM chief in Pernis, near Rotterdam, and from a cattle

executive officer Pieter Elbers said in a

was the first in the world to use sustain- webinar on SAF, where news of the flight farm in the northern Netherlands.

ably derived synthetic aviation fuel. was disclosed. “The captain informed the Marjan van Loon, Shell’s president for
The Boeing Co. 737-800 narrow-body passengers that this was a big step for the the Netherlands, said the aim now is to
plane carried 500 litres of the fuel pro- industry. They didn’t notice any difference.” turn synthetic fuel from “something that

duced by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, equating to KLM also operated the first commercial is technically possible to something that is

more than 5% of the total requirement for service to use biofuel in 2011, powered by a economically viable,” reducing costs and
the trip, KLM said in a recent statement. 50:50 blend of kerosene and used cooking accelerating production.

While flights partly powered by plant-de- oil. Availability since then has ‘been really Synthetics and biofuels are seen by

rived biofuels have become commonplace a challenge’ so that it currently meets less airlines as vital to cutting emissions before

as aviation seeks to reduce its reliance on than 1% of the airline’s needs, Elbers said. hydrogen and electric power make flying

fossil fuels, fully synthetic propellants have Synthetic jet fuel is derived from carbon truly carbon free, something that’s unlikely

taken longer to develop. dioxide and water and could help fill the gap, to be viable until well into next decade for

KLM said the Madrid flight was ground though the electrolysis used to secure hydro- even short-haul airliners. Q
RR TESTS SAF ON BIZJET ENGINE 14-18 November 2021 Unparalleled line-up of thought-
provoking content, aerial displays
DWC, Dubai Airshow Site and game-changing innovations
“This test demonstrates once again The SAF used in the Pearl 700 tests
that our current engines for large civil was produced by Paramount, California’s

olls-Royce announced recently and business jet applications can oper- World Energy, sourced by Shell Aviation www.dubaiairshow.aero Follow us on:

Rthat it has conducted its fi rst ate with 100% SAF as a full ‘drop-in’ op- and delivered by SkyNRG. Book your space today: sales@dubai.aero #DubaiAirshow

tests using 100 percent sustainable avia- tion, laying the groundwork for moving According to Rolls-Royce, unblended

tion fuel (SAF) in a business jet engine. this type of fuel towards certification,” SAF has the “potential to reduce net CO2
For the tests, the company used its the company said. lifecycle emissions by more than 75% Commerical Aviation | Aircraft Interiors | MRO | Business Aviation | Air Traffic Management

Pearl 700 engine, which was developed “At present, SAF is only certified for compared to conventional jet fuel.” Space | Defence & Military | Air Cargo | Emerging Technologies NEW

for the Gulfstream G700. Testing took blends of up to 50% with conventional The company also used unblended SAF

place at Rolls-Royce’s facility in in Dahle- jet fuel and can be used on all current for the first time in engine ground tests
witz, Germany. Rolls-Royce engines.” on a Trent 1000 engine last month. Q Supported by:
World Airnews | March 2021
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