Get rid of kerosene. Airbus announced that it successfully flew its flagship aircraft, the A380, for three hours on sustainable fuel on March 25.
It is the company’s third aircraft, after the A350 and the A319neo, to successfully fly thanks to “Sustainable Aircraft Fuel” (SAF), a fuel made from esters and hydrotreated fatty acids, typically recovered from used cooking oils and greasy residue, reports Capital. It therefore does not contain any fossil fuel.
The A380 took off from Toulouse airport, and one of its four engines was running on 100% SAF, a first for Airbus. “This is the first time that unblended SAF has been used on an A380 flight test platform,” Airbus test pilot Wolfgang Absmeier explained in a company statement. This sustainable fuel was therefore used at all stages of the flight, from take-off to landing. It was supplied by TotalEnergies and produced in French factories in Normandy, near Le Havre.
“The flight test met all our requirements, which will allow us to carry out the next phase of the project, which consists of specific engine maneuvers,” he added. A second test flight was to take place this Tuesday morning between Toulouse and Nice airports.
Last July, the French government launched a call for projects for the development of a “French sector of sustainable aeronautical fuels”, with an envelope of up to 200 million euros. The roadmap of the Ministry of Transport and Ecology, established in January 2020, indicated the substitution of fossil kerosene by biofuels up to 2% in 2025, then 5% in 2030, before a long-term objective by 50% in 2050. As air traffic is set to increase significantly over the next few years, the objective is to limit greenhouse gas emissions.