IATA's goal of carbon-neutral growth for the aviation industry in the medium term is achievable, according to representatives of the United Alternative Aviation Fuels Display (hall 3 stand A9), which is exhibiting at Farnborough for the first time to publicise the progress that biofuels have made towards meeting that target.

"We have a very important message. We're dealing with technologies that can contribute on a significant level to achieving carbon-neutral growth - it's happening and it's happening now," says Richard Altman, executive director of the Commercial Aviation Fuels Initiative and co-ordinator of the alternative fuels display.

The exhibitors behind the display - algae-derived oil producer Solazyme, bioenergy company Solena and Honeywell unit UOP - will be spending this week "trying to ensure the aviation community gives visibility" to biofuel producers, says Altman.

Solazyme, which produces jet fuel derived from micro-algae grown in the dark and fed with carbohydrate feedstocks, is "well beyond the laboratory or pilot phase" and already has a product that is "ready to be scaled up at a commercial level", says the company's senior vice-president of government relations David Isaacs.

While the jet fuel produced by Solazyme is not carbon neutral, Isaacs says that, based on the life-cycle theory, it emits 85% less carbon dioxide than kerosene. "The reduction could be greater than 100% because the process avoids releasing methane into the atmosphere."

Companies such as Solazyme may be confident of their ability to scale up production to commercially viable levels, but the challenges lie in attracting the investment needed to make it happen. "Just under half" of the airline industry's growth could be carbon neutral "in the 2013 time period", provided there are "enough success models" to attract investment, says Altman.

"The issue for large investors is that they need to see success models. Solazyme and Solena are sticking their necks out on this, but if the market dynamic comes into play the industry has a shot at being carbon neutral," he adds. "The idea of carbon-neutral growth has real legs. It's not unrealistic, it's just a matter of getting additional investment capital and doing more feedstock research."

Source: Flight Daily News

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