Could there be a way of making the aviation industry greener?

The aviation industry is one of the most difficult sectors to bring about improvements that result in a reduction in carbon equivalent emissions. When it comes to the aviation design sector, numerous improvements have led to a reduction in drag, and the modern fleet of aircraft have reached a state of close to perfection when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint.

At the moment, while it is greatly discussed in discussions around an individual’s carbon footprint if he/she lives a middle class western lifestyle, it is globally a modest part of the overall cause of climate change, with the vast majority of carbon emissions coming from the land based transport sector.

Nonetheless, as the developing world moves towards a higher takeup of short to mid haul flights for mini breaks in Africa and Asia this will be an increasing concern.

Velocys is a specialist in renewable jet fuel, using forestry as its energy source. Its biorefineries — based in the USA — converts byproducts from forestry into fuels used in aviation. The result is that there are substantive reductions in the greenhouse gases produced,  with the company stating a figure of a 60% reduction.

The topic of biofuels is environmentally contentious as the usage of ethanol or other sources of biofuels can impact food supply. However Velocys emphasises that its fuel is sourced from forestry by products traditionally used for pulp and paper production.

The group is also involved in a joint venture with ENVIA Energy in Oklahoma City in the USA to produce renewable fuels and chemicals from landfill gas and natural gas using gas to liquids.

This July the company raised £6 million by way of a fundraising at a price of 10p a share. This is to help fund its UK based waste to sustainable jet fuel project. This project, developed in conjunction with Shell and British Airways and is focused on taking post recycled waste and subsequently turning it into sustainable fuels.

The company is making headways in what is a tough area for environmental milestones given the development by comparison of electric and hydrogen powered cars, buses and trucks. Given the physical challenges posed by aviation and the immense energy required to keep a plane in the air, we are decades away from electric planes.