30% of Norway’s aviation fuel from forestry residues and pulpwood by 2030 possible only with governmental support
Research commissioned by Norwegian airports operator Avinor has concluded that 30% of Norway’s aviation fuel could be produced from forestry waste and pulpwood by 2030, but this depends on available funding.
According to Danish consultancy firm Rambøll, which was working in partnership with research firms Vista Analyse and Sintef, 30% of Norway’s aviation fuel could be sustainable by 2030.
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Avinor, LCC Norwegian, Scandinavian carrier SAS and the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries were all involved in the project, along with potential biojet producers, funding agencies and environmental organizations. It was stated that fleet renewal and new technology play the biggest role in cutting emissions, but sustainable biofuels will help the industry go further.
Avinor said:
“A new report from Rambøll now shows that 30% or 400 million liters of all aviation fuel used at Avinor’s airports could be sustainable by 2030. This fuel would be created from forestry waste and pulpwood from Norwegian forests. Achieving the target of a 30% blend, and the corresponding cut in emissions, would only be possible with the help of public funding.”
Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industry DG Torbjørn Lothe added:
“Authorities and politicians will have to facilitate large-scale investment in the commercial production of biofuel in Norway, with financial incentives that work. The environmental charges currently paid by the airlines would have to be used for activities that benefit the climate. This would allow us to create a commercial market for the production of biofuel for aviation as quickly as possible. The sustainable biofuel would also have to go to those sectors of the aviation industry, which currently have no other technological alternatives”
Avinor is responsible for 45 airports and air navigation in Norway. The company handles around 50 million airline passengers annually; around half of these travel through Oslo airport.