Era of 100% petroleum-free aviation debuts with first all-biofuels flight in Canada

In California, Aemetis announced at Advanced Biofuels Markets the world’s first flight segment on 100% renewable, drop-in biofuel, conducted by the National Research Council of Canada using its Falcon 20 jet.

The drop-in fuel was produced using AgrisomaResonance Energy Feedstock, a dedicated industrial oilseed that was launched at commercial scale in 2012 across a broad region of western Canada. Resonance Energy Feedstock produces a unique industrial oil ideally suited for biofuel manufacturing. Resonance is part of a new generation of sustainable and scalable biomass crops, specially developed to provide a non-food oil that represent a step change for the renewable fuels industry,breaking the reliance on food crops to supply feedstock for biofuel manufacturing.

To date, flights on biofuels have been restricted to a 50% blend with petroleum, imposing limitations on fuel use. Using Applied Research Associates’ proprietary catalytic hydrothermolysis process, oil from Resonance Energy Feedstock was converted into a fuel that represents a complete replacement for conventional jet fuel, enabling flight at 100% biofuel use, a breakthrough for the renewable fuels industry. This historic flight symbolizes a significant step not only for the aerospace industry, but also towards advancing sustainable sources of renewable energy.

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