Lufthansa launches first regular flights using biofuel

Lufthansa has launched a six-month biofuel trial on regular scheduled flights. Christoph Franz, chairman and CEO of the Lufthansa Group, said: “Lufthansa is the first airline worldwide to use biofuel in scheduled daily flight operations. We are thus continuing to steadily implement our proven and successful strategy for sustainability.”

The biosynthetic kerosene used by Lufthansa is derived from pure biomass (biomass to liquids – BtL) and consists of jatropha, camelina and animal fats. In the procurement of biofuel, Lufthansa ensures that it originates from a sustainable supply and production process.

Suppliers must provide proof of the sustainability of their processes and meet the criteria stipulated by the European Parliament and the European Council in the Renewable Energy Directive. Lufthansa guarantees that the production of its biofuel is not in direct competition with food production and that no rainforests are destroyed.

The fuel used by Lufthansa is produced by Neste Oil, a Finnish oil company. Neste has extensive experience in the production of biofuels and has been a successful partner of Lufthansa for many years. Lufthansa puts the total costs of conducting the biofuel project at about €6.6 million.

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has awarded €2.5 million in funding for this project, which is part of a larger project known as FAIR (Future Aircraft Research) set up to examine other issues besides the compatibility of biofuels, including new propulsion and aircraft concepts and other fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The use of biosynthetic kerosene is one element of the four-pillar climate protection strategy pursued by Lufthansa with a view to reducing overall CO2 emissions in the air transport sector.

By combining a range of different measures such as ongoing fleet modernisation, technology improvements to aircraft and engines, operational measures such as engine washing or the use of lighter materials , Lufthansa aims to achieve the ambitious environmental goals set out in its strategy.

The implementation of new technologies has seen Lufthansa improve its fuel efficiency by over 30 per cent since 1991. Today the Lufthansa fleet has an average fuel consumption of 4.2 litres per 100 passenger-kilometres.