Virgin Atlantic has announced that it is planning a test flight of a 747 powered by a mix of 20% biofuel and 80% conventional jet fuel. The flight, which will carry no passengers and is scheduled to happen sometime in late February, will be the first biofuel powered commercial jet flight, but what makes it even more unique is airline founder Richard Branson's approach to biofuels.
While traditional biofuels, made from soybean or palm oil, take valuable land area away from food production, Branson has publicly rejected biofuels derived from such crops. What this means is that the source of Virgin's biofuel will most likely be certain types of algae, which can be cultivated with only water, sunlight and carbon dioxide, making the biofuel derived from this unusual crop even more of a sustainable option.
Critics say that Branson's approach to sustainability is hypocritical because of the huge amounts of greenhouse gases given off with each journey made by a plane or train. However, Branson has put his money where his mouth is, setting aside all the profits from his airline and rail businesses to be spent researching and developing alternative energy solutions. Additionally, he has financed a $25 million prize fund with Al Gore, which will be used as an incentive to find an effective way of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement that, "This breakthrough will help Virgin Atlantic to fly its planes using clean fuel sooner than expected. The demonstration flight next month will give us crucial knowledge that we can use to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint. Virgin Group pledged to invest all its profits from its transportation companies towards developing clean energy and with this breakthrough we are well down the path to achieving our goals."
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