KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand has joined the race to find a commercial, environmentally friendly fuel for aircraft, as it tries to ward off looming threats to its business and New Zealand's tourism.
Air NZ will be part of the first commercial trial of a bio-fuelled, Rolls-Royce-powered Boeing aircraft late next year or early 2009. The Air NZ Boeing 747, departing Auckland, will not carry customers.
"The ultimate aim is to provide a commercially viable alternative fuel source, so a lot of the data that emerges from this initial flight test will then influence the subsequent development of the programme," Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe said.
With awareness of climate change increasing and some of its key markets 20,000km away, Air NZ had to convince customers it was tackling issues around "carbon footprints" and the use of fossil fuels.
Air NZ was optimistic that aviation biofuels might become viable earlier than previously thought, as technology was advancing quickly.
The test flight would use the existing engines mounted on the aircraft, although there would be some minor modifications to the fuel system.
Only one engine will run on a blended biofuel/kerosene mix and the remaining three will be powered by regular aviation fuel. An announcement on the source and mix of the blended fuel will be made closer to the time of the flight.
Ordinarily, a Boeing 747 uses 16 tonnes of fuel just to take off, the equivalent of running six family cars for a year.
Air NZ would like to progress to an all-New Zealand biofuel for future test flights, and had held preliminary talks with local biofuel producers, but sourcing enough domestically might be a challenge in the short term, Fyfe said.
A biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass, recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure, forest or crop waste, or even pond scum.
Bio-jet fuels will be "second-generation" fuels using sustainable feedstock and fuel processing, requiring less energy input. They would avoid deforestation and potential competition with food resources.
"Air New Zealand is keen to encourage research into alternative fuels and wants to work hand-in-hand with industry partners and the New Zealand Government on promoting this type of activity," Fyfe said.
Air NZ expected other similar programmes to emerge in the market place, given the high degree of interest.
Boeing is talking to fuel source providers around the world, and is reportedly also developing aircraft biofuels with Virgin Atlantic and engine-maker GE Aviation, with plans to test them next year.
Airlines expect the rules about carbon emissions to get tighter, despite the exclusion of international airline emissions from the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol.
Domestic travel would be "very much in the framework" of the Government's policy to combat global warming announced last week, and domestic air travel throughout Europe was being targeted with taxes and emission trading schemes, Fyfe said.
Air NZ is also talking to a number of government departments and private organisations about offsetting carbon emissions during travel, such as tree planting, pest control, and recreating natural habitats. The company expects to announce details in the next six months.
The aviation industry accounts for about 3 per cent of the world's carbon emissions, the UN says.
- NZPA
