Airline Low-Carbon Future Needs Fuel Nobody Makes in Volume
- JetBLue among airlines testing fuel made from corn, garbage
- ‘We just don’t have any alternative,’ Boeing executive says
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The airline industry’s plan to ease its impact on global warming hinges on fuels made from vegetable oil, corn and household garbage. The hitch: nobody has ever been able to produce the stuff in the volumes needed.
JetBlue Airways Corp., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group Ltd. have begun blending eco-friendly substitutes into traditional jet fuel made from kerosene. Even with that backing, there’s still only a handful of producers of the fuels. They lack the capacity to crank out the billions of gallons needed to supply the global aviation fleet, and the pace of investment is slowing.