Lufthansa uses farnesane in first European scheduled flight

The Lufthansa Group is operating its LH 190 flight from Frankfurt to Berlin Tegel using a 10% blend of the new biofuel component farnesane.

This is the first scheduled flight in Europe to run on this sugar-based bio-kerosene fuel mix.

A rig test at Lufthansa Technik's facility in Hamburg last year, as part of the EU's 'Blending Study' project preceded Lufthansa's flight.

Lufthansa has also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JatroSolutions to make jatropha production commercially viable. Lufthansa will help the company set up a raw materials supply chain to initiate the provision of biosynthetic fuel developed from the jatropha plant.

Joachim Buse, VP Aviation Biofuel, Lufthansa, says: 'In order to secure the supply of aviation biofuel, the requisite raw materials must be cultivated sustainably, at competitive prices. The Lufthansa Group companies therefore place great emphasis on the recognised certification of sustainably produced raw materials and on respecting social and development policy considerations.'