Toulouse. Airbus flies an airplane using fuel made up of … used cooking oils
Through Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
While waiting for the hydrogen airplane, the development of sustainable aviation fuels (CAD or SAF in English for Sustainable aviation fuel) is one of the major projects on which Airbus. It is with this fuel more “green” than a A319neo, equipped with CFM LEAP-1A engines, an overflight Toulouse and its region, Thursday, October 28, 2021.
A fuel made up of … cooking oils!
This flight was carried out as part of the first flight study of a single-aisle aircraft operating with 100% CAD, launched by Airbus, Dassault Aviation, ONERA, the Ministry of Transport and Safran.
Supplied by Total Energies, the fuel is made “from hydro-treated esters and fatty acids, which mainly consists of cooking oils used”, explains the aeronautical giant which to unveil its financial results for the first nine months of the year.
A first in March 2021
The performance had already been achieved by a A350-900, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, in March 2021. The study was then carried out in partnership with the German research center DLR, the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and the producer of sustainable fuel Neste.
Currently, Airbus planes can only operate with a mixture of 50% maximum sustainable fuel and fossil kerosene. This work should help promote the large-scale deployment of sustainable aviation fuels, as well as the certification of 100% CAD usage for the new generation of single-aisle commercial and business jets.
But before that, we will have to wait for the first results of the ground and flight tests. The latter are expected in 2022.
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