Emirates hails Boeing 777 test flight using ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel

Long-haul airline Emirates has successfully flown a Boeing 777 whose engines are powered entirely by so-called sustainable aviation fuel.

The test flight comes as airlines around the world try to reduce their carbon footprint.

Flight EK2646 flew over the coast of the United Arab Emirates for less than an hour after taking off from Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, before circling back to land.

The fuel powers one of Boeing’s two General Electric engines, while the other runs on conventional jet fuel for safety.

Adel al-Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement: “This flight is a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry as we work together to tackle one of our greatest challenges. — reducing our carbon footprint.”

Emirates, the state-owned airline under Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, described the sustainable fuel as a “reflective jet Fuel-quality mixture”. It includes fuel from Finnish company Neste and Wisconsin-based company Virent.

While Virent claims to use plant-based sugars to create the compounds needed for sustainable jet fuel, Neste’s fuel comes from vegetable oils and animal fats. These fuels reduce the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide that is normally burned off by engines in flight.

According to the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit research organization, aviation releases just one-sixth the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by cars and trucks. However, far fewer people fly each day – meaning aviation is a higher source of greenhouse gas emissions per capita.

Plane and engine makers have been designing more efficient models, in part to help reduce the cost of jet fuel — one of the biggest expenses airlines face. Emirates, for example, used more than 5.7 tons of jet fuel last year alone, spending $3.7 billion of its $17 billion annual expense.

But analysts say the sustainable fuel could cost three or more times as much as jet fuel, and airfares could be pricier as the airline industry reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It was not immediately clear how much a barrel of the fuel Emirates used in Monday’s test cost. The average cost of jet fuel was $146 a barrel over the weekend, according to S&P Global Platts.

The UAE, a major oil producer and member of OPEC, will host the next UN climate talks, or Cop28, starting in November.

The coalition of seven emirates has come under fire from activists for nominating the chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s state oil company to lead the UN negotiations, the so-called Conference of the Parties – from which the Cop gets its name.