Neste Oil to produce renewable aviation fuel as part of the EU-funded ITAKA project

Neste Oil has joined the ITAKA (Initiative Towards Sustainable Kerosene for Aviation) project, which is being funded by the EU to support the commercialization and use of renewable aviation fuel in Europe. Neste Oil’s role in the consortium will be to produce the renewable fuel used in the project.

The 36-month ITAKA project has been granted approx. EUR 10 million of funding under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development (2007-2013). In addition to Neste Oil, the consortium is made up of Airbus, BIOTEHGEN, Camelina Company Espanã, CLH, EADS IW, Embraer, EPFL, MMU, SENASA, RE-CORD, and SkyNRG.

Neste Oil will produce a total of 4,000 tons of NExBTL renewable aviation fuel as part of the project, primarily from sustainably produced Spanish camelina oil, and possibly also used cooking oil. The resulting renewable fuel, together with the camelina oil used to produce it, will be certified in accordance with the European Commission-approved RSB EU RED certification system. The renewable fuel will be blended with conventional fossil aviation fuel in accordance with the appropriate ASTM standard to create a 50/50 blend that will then be distributed to European airlines for use on their commercial flights.

Rather than aiming for any commercial gain from the project, the members of the consortium will focus on building up common research and test data on the use of renewable aviation fuel, in areas such as logistics and the practical issues related to fueling associated with scheduled flights in Europe. The project is also aimed at supporting the goal of the European Aviation Biofuels Flightpath initiative of producing 2 million tons of renewable fuel for airline use annually by 2020.

Neste Oil has already carried out trials on the use of NExBTL renewable aviation fuel in commercial service. During a recent six-month trial, Lufthansa flew a total of 1,187 flights between Frankfurt and Hamburg using NExBTL renewable aviation fuel, as well as one intercontinental flight between Frankfurt and Washington D.C. These flights showed that the fuel is ideally suited to commercial use, and contributed a reduction of over 1,500 tons in CO2 emissions and an approximately 1% reduction in fuel consumption.

Briefly about ITAKA and consortium members:
http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=proj.document&PJ_RCN=13434065

Details on the ASTM standard on renewable aviation fuel can be found here:
http://www.astmnewsroom.org/default.aspx?pageid=2524

NExBTL renewable aviation fuel in brief

Neste Oil’s NExBTL renewable aviation fuel is compatible with all aircraft engines currently in use and fully complies with the requirements of the ASTM D7566-11a standard. Using the fuel can make result in a significant reduction in aircraft-related greenhouse gas emissions, and can be used in a 50/50 blend with conventional fossil aviation fuel. NExBTL renewable aviation fuel is based on Neste Oil’s proprietary NExBTL technology, which uses hydrotreating techniques to produce fuel from a very wide range of inputs, such as vegetable oil and waste streams, including waste animal fat from the food industry. Neste Oil is committed to using only raw materials that have been verified as sustainably produced and that can be traced back to their original source.

For more on Neste Oil’s NExBTL renewable aviation fuel, see http://nesteoil.com/default.asp?path=1,41,535,547,17555. For more on the results of the trials with the fuel, see http://www.nesteoil.com/default.asp?path=1;41;540;1259;1260;18523;18536.

Neste Oil in brief

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels, and is the world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel. Neste Oil had net sales of EUR 15.4 billion in 2011 and employs around 5,000 people. Neste Oil’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

Neste Oil has been selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Ethibel Excellence Investment Register. Neste Oil has been included in The Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable corporations for a number of years in succession; and Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) has ranked Neste Oil as the best performer in the oil & gas sector. www.nesteoil.com