Two decades ago, motorists in South Wales realised that they could power their diesel cars with used cooking oil, thereby cutting their fuel bills substantially. They were fined for trying to avoid road fuel duty, but perhaps they should have been bunged £1 million by the government for demonstrating a greener future.
£1 million is the sum the government handed Virgin to enable today’s pioneering transatlantic flight using 100 per cent sustainable airline fuel (SAF). SAF is a blend of 88 per cent hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), manufactured from waste cooking oil, and 12 per cent synthetic aromatic kerosene, made from plant sugars from waste vegetable material.
Running a jet on low-carbon fuels would only reduce its total ‘climate impact’ by between 30 and 60 per cent
The attraction of SAF for airlines is obvious. As today’s flight will demonstrate, it is a ‘drop-in’ fuel which can be used in existing aircraft.
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