Weed gets airline high on possibility of cheaper fuel
IF ALL goes well, an Air New Zealand 747 jumbo jet will take off from Auckland in September powered by fuel refined from the seed of a fast-growing weed. The three-hour test flight could mark one of the more promising — and more unusual — steps by the airline industry to find cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel. "We're confident that the test will go well," said David Morgan, Air New Zealand's general manager for airline operations, before leading visitors to a farm here where the weeds are being researched. If the flight is successful, "it'll be a real milestone not only for Air New Zealand but for aviation". The secret: oil from poisonous seeds of the jatropha tree, which grows in warm climates. For the past year, scientists here have been perfecting a process to turn the oil into jet fuel. This week, the airline announced plans to use this fuel for 10% of its needs by 2013. The jatropha-refined fuel is much cheaper than crude oil. It could cost an estimated $US43 a barrel, or about one-third the cost of a barrel of crude oil, which on Wednesday closed at $US122.30. The test flight is particularly noteworthy because it will come at a time when ethanol and other biofuels have come under increasing scrutiny because of their side effects. Production of ethanol has been blamed for shortages in corn that have contributed to higher food prices. Others have been blamed for deforestation and contributing to global warming. The test also will come as record fuel prices are prompting airlines to raise fares and jam more people into fewer, more fuel-efficient planes. With jet fuel prices up 70% from a year ago, US carriers could lose more than $US7 billion ($A7.3 billion) this year, airline analysts estimate. "This is an extraordinary crisis with the potential to reshape the industry with impacts throughout the global economy," said Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, as he opened an annual gathering of airline executives in Istanbul. A partial solution might lie here on a hillside with a vista of Honolulu, where Air New Zealand and aircraft maker Boeing have been working with Hawaiian agriculture experts to develop a strain of weed that could help the industry reduce its dependence on crude oil. The weed, which resembles a fruit tree, can be grown almost anywhere, doesn't need much water or fertiliser, and is not edible.
