USDA partners with GE Aviation for biojet fuel

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has joined forces with jet engine producer General Electric (GE) Aviation, in addition to the Ohio Aerospace Institute, air carriers and producer groups, to produce renewable jet fuel from agricultural products.

The biojet will be provided at GE Aviation's Cincinnati, Ohio-based facilities and GE Aviation plans to buy around 5 million gallons of the biojet, starting in 2015.

Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack says this strategy will 'develop innovative ways to use agricultural products to help reduce our reliance on foreign oil'. Vilsack adds: 'USDA's collaboration with General Electric Aviation will bring together multiple sectors of Ohio's economy, including agricultural producers, to foster new innovations in the field of renewable fuels while bolstering new economic opportunities in the Midwest.'

Dedicated to reducing the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, the USDA also recently awarded the Ohio Soybean Council with a Value Added Producer Grant. The funds will be used to develop a pilot project that will refine soyabean oil-based biojet fuel. The department believes this project has the potential to launch renewable jet fuel into the commercial market.

The USDA is also working to produce renewable jet fuel for the military; it has partnered with the DoE, Department of the Navy and the Federal Aviation Administration. And in August 2011, the department partnered with the DoE and the navy to invest $510 million (€405 million) for the production of drop-in aviation and marine biofuels for both commercial and military applications.