Page 37 - Fuels & Lubes International 2013 - Q1

effective use of biofuels as Virgin Atlantic flew
from London to Amsterdam using a 20% biofuel
mix. Although the flight did not use Agrisoma’s
fuel, it does represent an important step towards
widespread adoption of biofuels—particularly
those that do not compete with food production.
Currently, Agrisoma is working with the
Canadian National research Council to see the
world’s first 100% biofueled flight. Fabijanski re-
iterated the importance of creating a good value
chain which links normally disparate interests
such as agriculture and aviation. doing so will
create a stable and scalable supply chain which
can meet the needs of the aviation industry.
warren Lampitt, general manager of
technical programs for Air Canada, offered the
North American airline’s perspective. Canadian
airlines have begun signing an agreement for
voluntary emissions reduction, with the caveat
of a mandatory measurement and reporting.
The end goal of this agreement is to see a 1.9%
reduction in emissions by implementing three
strategies. The first of which is to reduce the use
of older planes, while optimizing the current
fleet. Similarly, the industry hopes to imple-
ment newer and more efficient aircraft. Lastly,
there is the intent to work with NavCanada, the
country’s civil air navigation services provider,
to improve the use of airspace and maximize
efficiency. In conjunction with the industry
goal of carbon neutral growth by 2020, airlines
will need 150 million liters of biofuel available
to them. Lampitt admitted that it is possible to
meet this goal by purchasing carbon offsets, but
the adoption of biofuels is the ideal solution.
Internationally accepted definition
One roadblock towards a more universal
acceptance of sustainability initiatives is the
lack of an internationally accepted definition of
“sustainable.” Lampitt noted that this is unac-
ceptable; aviation is a global enterprise, and one
cannot expect to move towards a more sustain-
able world if each country has a different defini-
tion of what that word means. Coming up with
a globally recognized definition will not be an
easy task, but Lampitt believes it is a crucial step.
Lampitt also recognizes a second, but
equally important barrier to the adoption of
biofuels; cost. Airlines cannot pay a premium
for the biofuel they use without seriously affect-
ing their profit-margins, and as such the costs
for such fuels must be reduced as much as pos-
sible. This problem can be approached by trying
to optimize the scale at which these fuels are
produced. The tipping point at which the biofuel
industry will continue to grow on its own is a
1% market share. however, reaching this point
is no easy task and will require support from
the government and policy makers. The biofuel
industry needs to attain parity with other fuel
sources simply to ensure that there is no disin-
centive to producing it.
hideo Ohtake, director of CSr promo-
tion for All Nippon Airways (ANA), provided
a unique perspective on biofuel production.
Ohtake was quick to emphasize the sense of so-
cial responsibility that ANA, the largest airline
in Japan, possesses. The airline has been work-
ing to optimize their fleet, investing in new and
more efficient planes, finding routes that allow
planes to fly as straight as possible, and alternat-
ing between electric and auxiliary power while
planes operate on the ground.
ANA is the first airline to operate a trans-
pacific flight using biofuels. The biofuel industry
in Japan differs significantly from Canada and
the u.S. however due to its unique geography.
Japan is a small, island country and as such
cannot devote the same amount of land towards
growing biofuels. A Japanese venture firm has
turned to the ocean as a solution, using algae as
an alternative source of energy.
This conference has clearly shown that
there is an industry-wide interest in adopting
biofuels to reduce CO2 emissions, but this
enthusiasm is mitigated by concerns such as
the price tag and the logistics of production.
however, as this commitment towards
sustainability continues to develop, the industry
will continue to work towards finding solutions
to these barriers and in turn provide affordable
and sustainable biofuel.
作能源时可以与豆粕相比，从而降低油料的成本。最
终，Agrisoma希望Resonance的产量可以达到每公
顷150-200加仑（每公顷1,403-1,870升）。
加拿大在提高可持续性方面一直走在前面，
并帮助Agrisoma来测量其生产、运输和养种直
到最终用于飞行过程中的碳产出。通过使用一种
探头”，Agrisoma可以在一次飞行中进行六项独
立的分析，包括着陆、起飞、在不同高度的各种信
息。Richard Branson展示了维珍航空使用参加了
20%生物燃料的航空燃料从伦敦飞往阿姆斯特丹的
情况。虽然该航班没有使用Agrisoma的燃料，但确
实代表了广泛采用生物燃料进程中的重要一步，尤其
是与粮食生产无冲突的生物燃料。
目前，Agrisoma正在与加拿大国家研究委员
会进行合作，以尝试世界上首次100%生物燃料航
班。Fabijanski重申了建立良好的价值链的重要性，
这样可以把农业和航空各自分散的兴趣串在一起。这
样可以形成一个稳定、可扩张的供应链，以满足航空
业的需求。
加拿大航空的技术项目总经理Warren Lampitt
则代表了北美航空公司的观点。加拿大航空开始签
订一项自愿减排的协议，包括强制的计量和报告。这
项协议的最终目的是通过实施三个策略，使排放下
降1.9%。其中的第一项策略是减少旧飞机的使用，
同时优化现有机队。同样，行业中也希望采用更新更
高效的飞机。最后，与加拿大民航导航服务提供商
NavCanada的一个合作意向，以改进空间的利用效
率，使效率最大化。与业内期望在2020年实现碳中性
增长的目标一致，航空公司将需要1.5 亿升的生物燃
料。Lampitt承认，通过购买碳指标来实现这个目标，
但采用生物燃料是理想的解决方案。
国际认可的定义
更广泛采取可持续举措的主要障碍是缺乏国际
认可的“可持续性”定义。Lampitt说，这是不可接受
的；航空业是一个全球性的行业，如果各国对这个词
的定义各不相同，就不可能实现一个更可持续的世
界。制定一个全球认可的定义并非易事，但Lampitt
认为这是关键的一步。
Lampitt认为第二个同样重要的障碍是对生物燃
料的使用和成本。航空公司在使用生物燃料时所支付
的溢价必然会对其利润水平产生影响，因此，生物燃
料的成本必须尽可能地降低。这个问题可以通过尝试
优化这种燃料的生产规模来解决。生物燃料业实现其
不断的增长所需的转折点是1%的燃料份额。然而，
要达到这一个也非易事，需要政府和政策制定者的
支持。生物燃料业需要与其他燃料取得相同的地位以
确保对其生产不产生负面的激励。
全日空（ANA）企业社会责任宣传总监Hideo
Oht ake对生物燃料的生产提出了一个独特的观
点。Ohtake强调了日本最大的航空公司全日空的社
会责任意识。航空公司正在努力优化其机队，投资新
的、更高效率的飞机，寻找更直的飞行航线，并在飞
机在地面时使用电力和辅助动力。
ANA是第一家采用生物燃料飞行跨太平洋航线
的航空公司。由于其独特的地理位置，日本的生物燃
料业与加拿大和美国显著不同。日本是一个面积很小
的岛国，不能投入同样多的土地用于种植生物燃料。
一家日本公司转向海洋寻找答案，采用海藻作为替代
性能源。
本次大会明确地表明了行业对采用生物燃料降
低二氧化碳排放的兴趣，但这种热情因价格和生产物
流等因素而受到限制。但是，随着对可持续性的承诺
的不断加深，业内将继续合作，以寻找克服这些障碍
的解决方案，并逐步转向使用价格可承受的、可持续
的生物燃料。
“In conjunctionwith the industry
goal of carbon neutral growth by
2020, airlines will need 150million
liters of biofuel available to them. ”
ross Macfarlane of climate Solutions leads
a panel of experts at BIO’s 2012
pacific rim Summit
37 FUELS & LUBES INTERNATIONAL Quarter One 2013