1 Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

Claribel Serna edited this page 2025-01-18 23:30:31 +08:00

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry program in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing purchasers with their sleek shapes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel kinds of aviation fuel considered less damaging to the environment, from used cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually bowed to on aviation and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to curb emissions could make company jets more attractive to ecologically mindful purchasers - particularly corporations facing concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The accessibility of less contaminating private jets might likewise spare the rich and well-known the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on screen in Las Vegas are utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief industrial officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

"All of our product is inedible."

Some of the other 79 aircraft on screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions globally, but can release, typically, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his occasional usage of personal jets to guarantee his household's safety, and has actually stated that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his schedule have actually added fresh difficulties for an industry already aiming to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming including the use of personal jets are regrettable when you think about that our market has actually delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel usage will assist the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry information, billionaires only have a 19% service jet ownership rate.

But even an image makeover - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting aircrafts - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," said air travel analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from business jet operators for sustainable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest could drive future production, Sherbacow stated.

World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, might broaden production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and experts are likewise seeing more interest from consumers who want to buy carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions played a role in a corporate jet usage research study his business recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.

"At the end of the day, I believe that cost, cost per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe individuals are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it affects the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)