First transatlantic flight using 100% green fuel

British airline Virgin Atlantic's Virgin Boeing 787 passenger plane uses fuel made mainly from used cooking oil and animal fat to fly from London to New York.

Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 787 arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport, completing the first transatlantic flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The Boeing 787 took off at 6:49 p.m. on November 28 (Hanoi time) from Heathrow Airport in London, carrying billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss and British Transport Minister Mark Harper. The plane landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at 2:05 a.m. on November 29, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. After landing, Harper said the flight was uneventful.

Virgin Atlantic said the fuel used for the November 28 flight was made mainly from used cooking oil and waste animal fat mixed with a small amount of synthetic aromatic kerosene made from corn waste.

The flight is a demonstration to highlight the goal of reducing emissions and to call for government support. The Boeing 787 will return to London using conventional fuel. The engines used on the flight will be drained of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and inspected before running again on conventional fuel.

Aviation accounts for about 2-3% of global carbon emissions and is more difficult to decarbonize than road transport. Today’s commercial jet engines typically only allow up to 50% SAF in combination with conventional kerosene.

Airlines are looking to sustainable fuels to reduce emissions by up to 70%, but the high cost and availability of the raw materials needed to produce SAF makes large-scale production difficult. SAF accounts for less than 0.1% of jet fuel used globally today and costs three to five times more than conventional jet fuel.

Many European airlines want to use 10% SAF by 2030. The aviation industry’s 2050 net-zero emissions target depends on increasing this to 65%. Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said SAF is the only solution to decarbonize commercial flights in the medium term, but analysts say the 2030 target will be difficult to achieve due to its low usage and high costs.

Thu Thao (According to Reuters )

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