Greentech Lead China: Airbus has formed partnership with
Tsinghua University to explore ways to speed up the commercialization of
aviation biofuel.
The partnership aims to produce and promote the use of
aviation biofuel in China.
As part of this initiative, Airbus and Tsinghua
University will perform sustainability analysis of Chinese feedstock. The
analysis is managed by Airbus and involves close collaboration with Tsinghua
and leading European institutions.
China is the world’s fastest growing aviation market.
“We are privileged to be working with our Chinese
partners to determine how best we can contribute to a sustainable aviation
sector in China” said Frederic Eychenne, Airbus New Energies program manager.
“The commercialization of alternative fuels is one of the essential ingredients
in our quest to achieving ambitious environmental targets in aviation.”
In Phase I of the initiative, the firms will assess
suitable feedstocks that comply with ecological, economic and social
sustainability criteria. The first results are due to be analyzed in the second
half of 2012. The goal is to select a number of feedstocks including used
cooking oil and also algae.
The entire sustainability analysis is expected to be
completed by early 2013.
“The project will help us improve the understanding of
the nature of aviation Biofuels commercialization in China, identify the opportunities
and challenges, and evaluate the possibility of social, economic, market and
technology change and its cost, obstacles and challenges,” said professor Zhang
Xiliang, director of Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua
University, who is also the project manager.
According to Xiliang, the research will have positive
effects on energy conservation, emissions reduction and climate change
addressing in Chinese aviation sector.
With this partnership to produce and commercialize sustainable
aviation biofuel in China, Airbus hopes to have value chains in every continent
by 2012. So far Airbus has value chains in Latin America, Australia, Europe,
the Middle East, and with the Chinese value chain, Asia.