To make flying more sustainable, there is a great need in the aviation industry to develop a carbon neutral, sustainable alternative for kerosene. TUIfly has therefore joined forces with AlgaePARC to explore the potential of bio-kerosene production from microalgae. If the production of bio-kerosene from algae turns out to be economically and technologically feasible, TUIflyis willing to invest in large scale production of algae.
A major challenge for the cost-effective production of biofuels from algae is that the production costs need to be reduced by a factor ten or more. This can in part be achieved via technological developments and scale-up of algal production systems. Another useful approach is the recovery of valuable co-products (such as proteins) from the microalgal biomass via development of biorefinery technologies. Bio-refining is the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed, chemicals, materials) and bioenergy (biofuels, power and/or heat).
In this project Wageningen UR evaluates the economics of algae-based bio-kerosene, through benchmarking with current aviation fuels, identification of partners for technology development and an analysis of sustainability, in particular CO2 savings. Based on the results of the study a road map will be set up including a program for research, development and demonstration of large-scale production of algae bio-kerosene with adequate specifications and at competitive costs.
