First Transatlantic bio-jet fuelled flight takes off today
September 14, 2018
By Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.
Sept. 14, 2018 - Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a Canadian agri-tech company that sells Carinata seeds used to produce aviation bio-jet fuel, will partner with United Airlines and World Energy on Agrisoma's second international commercial flight powered by bio-jet fuel made from Carinata seed oil. The nonstop San Francisco-to-Zurich flight on a Boeing 787 departs on Sept. 14 at 2:10 p.m. from San Francisco International Airport and arrives Sept. 15 at 10:10 a.m. at Zurich Airport (aka Kloten Airport).
Agrisoma Biosciences produces bio-jet fuel made from Carinata seed oil The bio-jet fuel made from Carinata and refined by World Energy’s Paramount facility replaces 30 per cent of the petroleum jet fuel needed for the flight.
“This flight is another milestone for the aviation industry’s move toward low-carbon fuels,” said Steve Fabijanski, founder, CEO and president of Agrisoma. “At 11 hours, it is the longest transatlantic bio-jet flight undertaken to date, and, with the fuel-efficient Boeing 787, represents the lowest carbon footprint commercial flight across the Atlantic. It is our second international biojet flight powered by Carinata, but there are more to come.”
Earlier this year, Agrisoma, Australia’s Qantas Airways and World Energy partnered on a transpacific flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne that used bio-jet fuel produced from Carinata.
Agrisoma has commercial agreements across the global aviation industry to supply Carinata for a low-carbon fuel that is chemically identical to conventional, petroleum-derived jet fuel. Agrisoma has Carinata growers in place throughout the Americas and Australia, where Carinata is grown as a second crop to complement existing crop production, delivering additional on-farm income and soil health benefits.
Carinata bio-jet fuel is made by harvesting tonnes of Carinata crop, crushing the grain to recover the oil and refining that oil into jet fuel.
Production of biofuel from Carinata seeds yields both biofuel and, as a byproduct, high-protein animal feed. Stems and leaves from the crop are returned to the field to enrich the soil for subsequent crops. Carinata is the first oilseed to be certified sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the independent global standard and certification program for sustainable biofuels.
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