Royal Aeronautical Society on OSL and biofuel - RAS

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Oslo Airport pioneers biofuel facility 5 February 2016 BILL READ FRAeS reports from Norway where Oslo Gardermoen became the first airport in the world to offer airlines the option of refuelling aircraft with aviation biofuel through a normal fuel supply infrastructure.  Refuelling an SAS aircraft with biofuel blend. (Avinor) On 22 January 2016, Oslo Gardermoen Airport in Norway became the first airport in the world to offer airlines the option of refuelling aircraft aviation biofuel through a normal fuel supply infrastructure. For the first time, biofuel will be available via the airport’s fuel hydrant infrastructure instead of using a refuelling truck. Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications, Ketil Solvik-Olsen. "Today is a red letter day for international aviation,” said Norway’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Ketil Solvik-Olsen. “Oslo Airport is now the world's first major international airport with regular deliveries of jet biofuel," Grown in Spain Green partners - left to right: Thorbjorn Larssen, GM, Air BP Norway; Theye Jacoubs Veen, CFO SkyNRG; Kaisa Hietala EVP, Neste; and David Gilmour, CEO Air BP. (Avinor) The biofuel now being delivered to Oslo Airport is derived from Camelina oilseed which is produced by 500 farmers on fallow land in semi-arid regions in Spain for Camelina Company Espana (CCE). Camelina is a flowering plant native to Northern Europe and Central Asia which can be grown in semi-arid regions which does not compete with other food crops or feedstock. The feedstock was then shipped to Neste’s Porvoo refinery in Finland where it was converted into biofuel. A main batch was shipped to Gavle in Sweden where it was blended with fossil Jet A-1 fuel in a 48% biofuel to 52% fossil fuel ratio which meets the current ASTM D1655/DEFSTAN 91-91 specifications for aviation turbine fuels. Air BP purchases the fuel from Neste with the assistance of SKyNRG acting as a consultant. The first deliveries by road tanker to Oslo Airport began on 30 December 2015 where it was dropped into the main fuel hydrant system. The biofuel is produced within the framework of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme demonstration project ITAKA (Intiative Towards sustAinable Kerosene for Aviation). Air BP has agreed to deliver a minimum of 1.25m litres of biofuel to Oslo Airport. (Avinor) The project is the result of co-operation between aircraft fuel supplier Air BP and Norwegian state-owned airport operator Avinor which operates Oslo and 45 other airports. Air BP, which supplies over 7bn gallons of jet kerosene and aviation gasoline each year to customers around the world, has agreed to deliver 1.25m litres to Oslo Airport. The aim is to increase this volume in the future to establish regular commercial deliveries.  Looking to the long term Lufthansa was the first airline to commit to using biofuel at Oslo. (Avinor) The opening of the Oslo biofuel facility comes at a time when the price of conventional fuel is at a record low level and other bio fuel projects have been suspended - one example was the recent suspension at the end of 2015 of the Solena/British Airways GreenSky scheme to create 16m gallons of fuel from London rubbish. However, the partners in the Oslo biofuel scheme are looking further ahead and pledging their faith in the future green credentials of biofuels. The Avinor/Air BP initiative is in line with the aviation industry environmental targets of climate-neutral growth by 2020 and a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050, compared to 2005. The EU has also set a target for 3.5% of all aviation fuel to be biofuel by 2020.. European-based carriers Lufthansa, SAS and KLM are active participants in the scheme and have signed agreements to purchase the fuel. Although biofuel currently costs more to produce than fossil jet fuel, the airlines have agreed to pay extra to ensure that biofuel could be offered at Oslo and have expressed the hope that more airlines will begin to use it in the future. Lufthansa was the first airline to commit to using biofuel at Oslo and has used it to refuel an Airbus A320. Meanwhile, KLM Cityhopper is to begin flights using blended biofuel in the second quarter of 2016 flying Embraer 190 regional jets between Oslo and Amsterdam Schipol. In co-operation with aircraft manufacturer Embraer, the efficiency of the biofuel will be assessed in comparison with kerosene. The flights have been made possible by the partners of the KLM Corporate BioFuel programme which pay a surcharge to cover the price difference between sustainable biofuel and traditional kerosene.   Oslo Airport refuelling tanks. Avinor has supported the supply of biofuel by sponsoring some of the start-up costs of the fuel production and a fixed contribution per tonne of fuel. In addition, the Norwegian government has also taken steps to encourage the adoption of biofuel with lower CO2 taxes on domestic flights in Norway. Biofuel is also exempted from the EU quota system. The Norwegian budget for 2016 proposes that flights using 25% of jet biofuel will receive a 25% reduction in airport landing fees, although the terms of operation are still being clarified. From 1 January 2018 the Norwegian Parliament proposes that the 25% rebate on aviation fuel will be replaced by a drop-in requirement. “Norway is committed to the transition to a low-emission society. I am pleased that the aviation sector wants to participate in this adjustment, as evidenced by the initiative taken by Avinor and Air BP,” says Minister of Climate and Environment, Vidar Helgesen.

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