Aviation industry prepares biofuels for take off

Dr Alan H Epstein, vice president technology and environment at aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney explains how the industry is shaking off its tag of environmental pariah
BusinessGreen.com: As vice president technology and environment at one of the world’s largest developers of aviation engines, you must be well used to the charge that the sector is environmentally unsustainable and has not done enough to cut carbon emissions

Dr Alan H Epstein: It’s true that aviation was the bad boy of the environment, but it now has one of the most coherent approaches to environmental issues. From the companies such as Pratt and Witney that make the equipment, to plane manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, to the airlines and airports, we have all got together. It is partly because we have realised the truth of Benjamin Franklin’s rubric: “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

What is the aim of this coalition?

We have a plan. It is technically sound and it will get us to a place where emissions from aviation are no longer growing, and in fact start to come down. We can achieve that through new engine designs and carbon-neutral fuel, most likely in the form of biofuels. Boeing expects four to five per cent growth a year for the industry between now and 2050, so to stop emissions growing we need to take out five per cent a year. Between 1959 and 2009 the industry has improved fuel efficiency by 2.5 per cent a year, primarily through better engine design. We think we can continue that pace of improvement so the question is where do we get the other 2.5 per cent improvement from. The answer has to be lower-carbon fuel.

Business Green