GE joins Virgin Australia and consortium in biofuel production

GE announced that it has joined Virgin Australia and a consortium of partners that will research biofuel production for the aviation industry. The consortium’s main focus will be pyrolytic conversion of biomass from mallee eucalypt trees. They plan to have a pilot biofuel production unit operating in Australia by 2012. The aviation industry has been putting added focus on carbon emissions in light of worldwide emissions trading schemes. GE is already a leader in ecomagination. It is leading in the development of fuel efficient jet engines and biofuel production is an extension of its ecomagination. “Innovation and creativity will play enormous roles as part of the transition to a low carbon future. We already invest a huge amount in the development of more efficient and alternative energy sources in the aviation industry and beyond, and we hope to bring a huge amount of knowledge to this partnership,” said Ben Waters, director of ecomagination, GE Australia and New Zealand. (September 1, 2011)