How much electricity comes from renewable energy sources such as solar and hydropower? ~20%. By 2050 renewable energy will make up 80% of the grid. Electricity will eventually become completely sustainable. That’s good :)

But electricity isn’t great for long-distance air travel. Also, emissions at high altitudes have higher concentrations of ozone and cause more global warming damage than on the ground. That’s bad :(

Take a look at the average CO2 emissions for a person in one year:

We’ve discussed aviation innovation in a previous newsletter, but practical solar and electric aircraft are a long way off… and we haven’t figured out how to fly on happy thoughts yet.

Adding Biofuels to the Fire

Biofuels! Made from various materials including algae, crops, forestry residue, seeds, and food waste, biofuels are a renewable energy. These biofuel feedstocks absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow, so burning them for fuel simply releases that same carbon back into the atmosphere. The net CO2 level remains the same.

Biofuels can be “drop-in” fuels. They can work with existing processing, storage, and transportation infrastructure. They can replace conventional jet fuel without modifying existing engines.

A company called Virent converts plant-based sugars into various products identical to those made from petroleum, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals for plastics and fibers. The process takes a few hours, compared to the millions of years required for petroleum.

(Props to Tesoro for putting it’s sustainable foot forward and acquiring Virent to scale up production)

Biofuel can clean up a number of industries, not to mention save the U.S. a half a Billion dollars on imported oil every day, but right now let’s focus on how it will allow aviation to soar.

Biofuel Gives Airplanes Wings

Federal investment in Emerald Biofuels, Fulcrum BioEnergy, and Red Rock Biofuels set the runway for airlines to fly on clean energy. They produce military-grade biofuel that can be blended up to 50% with traditional fuels, emitting less than half the greenhouse gas emissions, at a price competitive with petroleum.

A consortium of airlines has formed the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation biofuels:

If you don’t see your favorite airline here, you should probably strike up a conversation next time you’re boarding or talking to your flight attendant