Airlines Need a New Fuel

August 22, 2008

... and not just the airlines, but the air freighters like FedEx, UPS and DHL, and the US Air Force badly needs an oil alternative too. ( Well, that said, so do you!) All of these have seen their fuel prices soar over the last year and that's putting their business models and their missions under tremendous stress. Not to mention, contributing to increasing the prices of just about everything.

This article provides a nice summary of a few current initiatives, some related to (clean) coal, others related to biofuels and biomass.  And this page describes, in a bit more detail, an early stage clean coal and biomass project taking shape in Illinois. Lastly, for a glimpse of the technology that may one day provide relief, not through new fuels, but by electricity, see this previous Powrtalk post on electric planes. 

So whether it comes from coal, garbage, livestock waste, algae, seeds of the jatopha tree or babassu oil, or all of the above, one thing is certain: airplanes need to start running on something other than oil, especially imported oil.

Photo courtesy of JohnMMM @ Flickr

 

Comments

[stomv]

I'm hoping we'll see more UPS planes running on electricity. Specifically, have them shed their wings, get articulated, and run on the rails. Alternatively, get bigger and use marine fuel to float. Or -- perhaps better yet -- manufacture more products locally, eliminating the need for as much transport altogether.

Focusing on a different fuel for planes is good. Focusing on simply lowering the demand for planes because slower [and more fuel efficient] alternatives are acceptable is even better.