Airbus jet first airliner to use alternative fuel

An Airbus A380, the world’s largest airliner, became the first commercial jet aircraft to use alternative fuel Friday, marking a milestone on the road to biofuels.

The double-decker A380 needed no modification to use the gas-to-liquid, or GTL, fuel, which was designed to be mixed with regular jet fuel so the airplane “does not know the difference,” Airbus said.

Airbus hopes the plane, hit by production delays, will become the centerpiece of efforts to develop the next generation of cleaner fuel at a time when the aviation industry is under pressure over the effects of emissions on the climate.

Sebastien Remy, head of Airbus’ alternative fuel program, said the fuel used Friday was no cleaner in carbon dioxide emissions than regular fuel, but it had local air quality benefits because it produced no sulfur.

By 2025, he said, a quarter of jet fuel could be some form of alternative fuel.

The fuel used, a mix of 60% standard jet kerosene and 40% GTL, was used in one of the A380’s four engines. The GTL was made from natural gas, a fossil fuel and not a biofuel, which are made from renewable resources.

But Remy said GTL was the first step to developing biomass-to-liquid fuel, which can be made from a variety of organic sources including wood chips and crops.

He wants to avoid competing for food crops, and said the research emphasis was on growing biomass where food is not grown. Algae could eventually be one source.

The A380 took off from Filton, England, and landed at Toulouse, France.