mission-newenergy-limited

1 Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant market program in Las Vegas high-end jets are luring buyers with their sleek silhouettes, plush cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase unique types of aviation fuel deemed less hazardous to the environment, from used cooking oil to the distinctly less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually bowed to environmental pressure on air travel and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to curb emissions might make organization jets more attractive to environmentally mindful buyers - specifically corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The availability of less contaminating private jets might also spare the abundant and well-known the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his other half Meghan over a recent private jet journey to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on display screen in Las Vegas are utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

Some of the other 79 aircraft on display are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions globally, but can discharge, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has actually defended his periodic use of private jets to guarantee his household's security, and has stated that on the rare events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his itinerary have actually included fresh obstacles for an industry currently striving to validate its contribution to cutting corporate costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving the usage of personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our market has actually provided fuel performance improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry information, billionaires only have a 19% business jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting aircrafts - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.

Environmentalists and some experts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial influence on public understandings about high-end travel.

"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," said air travel analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from business jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow said.

World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, might broaden production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from consumers who desire to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions contributed in a corporate jet usage research study his company just recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

"At the end of the day, I believe that rate, cost per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe people are becoming more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)