Interjet and Airbus conduct Mexico’s first bio-fuel flight

By 2050, aviation sector seeks to cut CO2 emissions by 50 %

Interjet flew the first Jatropha-based bio-fuel flight in Mexico earlier this month using an Airbus A320 aircraft. The bio-fuel test flight, made from locally sourced Jatropha plant harvested in the southern state of Chiapas, is part of a larger project to speed up the commercialisation of aviation bio-fuel in Mexico. And with oil price on a constant rise, initiatives like Interjet’s cannot come soon enough.

The A320 successfully flew from Mexico City’s International Airport to Angel Albino Corzo of Tuxtla Gutierrez airport in the southern State of Chiapas, with one of the two CFM engines using 30% bio-fuel. The Jatropha bio-fuel has been processed by Honeywell’s UOP.

Miguel Aleman, Interjet’s President, said the demonstration flight was the realisation of Interjet’s two-year ambition to develop a production chain for renewable bio-fuel, with the purpose of creating a Mexican platform for sustainable aviation bio-kerosene.

For the stakeholders involved, the bio-fuel flight represented an important step towards establishing an aviation bio-fuel solution that is both commercially viable and environmentally sustainable, serving as evidence that the aviation sector is serious about its commitment to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020, and a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels.

CO2 life cycle studies show that Jatropha has the potential to reduce the overall CO2 footprint by up to 80% over standard aviation kerosene.

The initiative was supported by Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) and Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), the State of Chiapas, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), CFM, UOP and Airbus to ensure the bio-fuel meets all specification for flight without any changes to the aircraft or engines.

Locally-sourced Jatropha seeds used to create bio-fuel