Lufthansa prepares to test biofuel
From April 2011 Europe’s largest airline Lufthansa is to trial biofuel in an Airbus A321 engine.
The six-month trial will see the airline use a 50:50 blend of biofuel and kerosene on its local commercial flights from Hamburg to Frankfurt and back again.
The project will allow Lufthansa to test the effect of biofuels on plane engines, looking at engine maintenance and the effect of biofuel on engine life.
Commenting on the long-term trial Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chairman and CEO, said: ‘Lufthansa will be the world’s first airline to utilise biofuel in flight operations within the framework of a long-term trial. This is a further consistent step in a proven sustainability strategy, which Lufthansa has for many years successfully pursued and implemented.'
However there is still some way to go before the trial commences next year and Lufthansa is currently overcoming some of the challenges associated with the six-month project. For one, fuelling facilities will only be available in Hamburg, while a number of internal adaptations need to be made as the same plane will be used throughout the project.
Costing €6.6 million, Lufthansa’s project will save an estimated 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The six-month trial will see the airline use a 50:50 blend of biofuel and kerosene on its local commercial flights from Hamburg to Frankfurt and back again.
The project will allow Lufthansa to test the effect of biofuels on plane engines, looking at engine maintenance and the effect of biofuel on engine life.
Commenting on the long-term trial Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chairman and CEO, said: ‘Lufthansa will be the world’s first airline to utilise biofuel in flight operations within the framework of a long-term trial. This is a further consistent step in a proven sustainability strategy, which Lufthansa has for many years successfully pursued and implemented.'
However there is still some way to go before the trial commences next year and Lufthansa is currently overcoming some of the challenges associated with the six-month project. For one, fuelling facilities will only be available in Hamburg, while a number of internal adaptations need to be made as the same plane will be used throughout the project.
Costing €6.6 million, Lufthansa’s project will save an estimated 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
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