Despite the fact that airplane fuel has become relatively cheaper these days, some airlines are still keen on using biofuels for their planes. The United Airlines will be the first commercial airline in the United States to switch over to biofuels.
The company announced via a press communiqué that Fulcrum BioEnergy is manufacturing the biofuel from food waste, farm scraps, as well as animal fat. United Airlines' first flight using biofuel will be from Los Angeles to San Francisco sometime this summer. If everything goes well and according to plans, the company will start using the biofuel across its entire fleet following a two-week trial, The Kitchn reported.
However, the company did not clarify whether it will be using the airline food scraps for making biofuel. According to the report, "airline meals" are in so short supply these days of airline scrimping that it will not be much help.
Although a few airlines have already experimented by flying individual flights using a variety of biofuels, this will be the first time that an airline has committed to power a large number of commercial flights with biofuel.
United Airlines plans to use biofuel made by AltAir Fuels, using technology from Honeywell. The new technology converts bio wastes, such as oil and fats from animals, into a fuel, Fortune reported.
In addition, the company has also been working with biofuel maker Fulcrum Bioenergy for quite some time now. Fulcrum Bioenergy, which raised $30 million in financing from United Airlines last year, has been developing a factory in the Reno, Nev., area in the same industrial park as Tesla's large battery factory. Fulcrum's factory will be equipped to convert garbage, including paper, plastic, fabric, and even wood, into bio jet fuel in a couple years.
However, Fulcrum Bioenergy is not supposed to produce its biofuel commercially for United Airlines until 2018. According to United Airlines, the company is using the biofuel from AltAir Fuels to replace 30 percent of its petroleum-based fuel for the L.A. flights over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, during the past many years, several biofuel companies have been targeting airlines, seeking customers that are willing to pay for a fuel blend. As of now, the market to sell biofuel as a substitute for gasoline for vehicles has been difficult, particularly with the sharp decline in oil prices of the past year.
