Feds eyeing domestic jet biofuel industry
OTTAWA • The federal government is looking at the potential of producing jet biofuels, in light of an international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry.
Natural Resources Canada is looking for a company to design a “roadmap” for the development of a domestic aviation biofuel industry, according to a procurement document recently posted online.
“The potential for Canada is not only in production of a cleaner biojet fuels (sic) but also in the development of new technologies than (sic) can be exported,” it reads.
The document notes that Canada imports 40 per cent of its jet fuel consumption.
In October 2016, the government signed onto an international agreement to make the airline industry carbon-neutral by 2020. Canada also aims to cut aviation emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2050.
Biofuels are about the only way to meet that target, says Geoffrey Tauvette, director of fuel and environment at WestJet, since there are no electric planes on the way anytime soon. “I think it’s great that (the government has) heard our message that for aviation, we really have no other choice,” he said.
Traditional biofuels such as ethanol don’t work in airplanes because of their low energy density and the fact that they freeze at low temperatures, said Jack Saddler, a professor of bioenergy at the University of British Columbia. Instead, most jet biofuel comes from forest biomass and food waste, like used cooking oil.
The federal government seems keen on the possibility of producing biofuel from forestry scraps, including branches and bark. “There is strong interest from airlines and forest industry stakeholders in exploring the possibilities of producing biojet from forest biomass, in particular from industrial residues,” a department spokesperson told the Post.
Jet biofuel is only just entering the commercial market. Saddler pointed to AltAir Fuels, a Californiabased refiner, and Neste Oil, a Finnish company with refineries in Rotterdam and Singapore, as some of the main suppliers. Some airlines are beginning to mix biojet into their fuel, he said, but only in small quantities. “I think that’s a kind of way to show everybody it’s safe,” he said. Other airlines, including Air Canada, have only conducted flight tests using biofuel.
But airlines looking to use renewable fuel face a number of hurdles, including limited supply. The fuel is expensive relative to conventional jet fuel, Saddler said, adding that a domestic jet biofuel industry would likely require government subsidy. “Anything new usually does, because you’re trying to displace something,” he said.