A Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando to London has become the first commercial flight to use jet fuel partly made from recycled industrial waste.
Richard Branson told reporters it was “a historic day. The fuel is cleaner than normal jet aviation fuel”.
The biofuel is made from industrial waste gases converted into ethanol and produced by startup company LanzaTech. The “sustainable fuel” delivers 70 percent lifecycle carbon savings reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared with conventional petroleum fuel.
“Working with @LanzaTech will enable us to drastically reduce our carbon emissions and a the same time, help support UK industry” @richardbranson
Virgin states it could fuel 100 percent of all its flights departing from Britain with a 50 percent mix of the new fuel.
“Long haul travel is more important than ever for connecting people around the world, and it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re doing that in the most sustainable way possible. Working with LanzaTech will enable us to drastically reduce our carbon emissions and at the same time, help support UK industry. That’s why we’re so excited to showcase this fuel on its first commercial flight as we plan for the world’s first full scale jet fuel plant using this amazing new technology.” – Sir Richard Branson
Reducing carbon is a major priority at @VirginAtlantic and our first flight using @LanzaTech sustainable jet fuel is a huge step in making this a reality https://t.co/ATfVXLX1hd pic.twitter.com/tdsmMzqakN
— Virgin (@Virgin) October 7, 2018
