EBACE Show News - May 20, 2008 - (Page 64) CLEAN ‘N’ GREEN EBACE 2008 EBAA Sees ‘Inevitable’ Emissions Trading to stand up and lead the process. Emissions trading now is an By 2012, Mandemaker says an inescapable fact of life for European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) business aviation. Already there are could be enshrined in European law. operators offering carbon-offsetting It would apply not just to aircraft regplans. More significantly, the impleistered in the European Union (EU) mentation of formal legislation to but to any business aircraft flying in enforce these policies is drawing ever EU airspace. “This is what the Eurocloser. Business aviation users need pean population has decided,” notes to accept this and take steps to be part Mandemaker. “We can continue to of a “green movement” that takes argue over global warming, is it real account of their needs. That, accord- Eric Mandemaker. ing to European Business Aviation Association or not, but the law is coming—and we don’t want CEO Eric Mandemaker, is simply the way it is to wait until that happens. “We have to recognize the fact that aircraft and, for its part, the EBAA (Booth 7564) wants emit CO2 and take social responsibility for that. Business aviation is one the smallest emitters— we have modern aircraft and modern engines—but pollution is pollution, and it is now accepted that the polluter must pay. “When we saw the first draft of the EU’s ETS it was obvious this had to happen, and we didn’t Green initiatives at Honeywell (Booth 322) disagree with the aims—but we do disagree include development of “green” bio jet fuel with the Commission’s methodology and made from non-food vegetation and algae oils. processes, which we feel are weighted in favor “There is a lot of opportunity in the near of the airlines. term, especially for business aviation flight “There are only 3,000 business aircraft flying departments that are often going in and out in the entire EU, and most are operated by smallof the same airports,” says Rob Wilson, presor medium-sized companies. As it stands, the ident of business and general aviation at ETS will place a huge administrative burden on Honeywell Aerospace. them which they are not set up to bear. It is a very The biofuel, which would be completely costly and complex way of measuring CO2 outcompatible with Jet A, is being developed by put and then working out a credit scheme. We UOP, a completely owned subsidiary specialty don’t think it’s viable. materials company of Honeywell, in partner“So we are proposing an alternative means of ship with Airbus, International Aero Engines compliance. We want to establish a separate, notand JetBlue Airways. for-profit association that will take on all the “We are looking at doing a pilot program,” administration functions for the business aviahe added. tion community. With a combination of the Will flight departments in the future buy EBAA and Eurocontrol working closely together, their biofuel from Honeywell? “It’s too early we will be able to build up a very detailed picto tell,” says Wilson, “but there are some ture of which aircraft have flown where, what did —John Morris exciting possibilities.” they do, what routes did they use, how long were they in the air. That data will be shared, collated and then—over a period of weeks, months or a year—you can calculate what level of CO2 emissions have been incurred. “Then we, as the association, would go and obtain the credits to offset this. The aircraft owners will actually buy the credits, but the association will use its collective bargaining power to ‘buy in bulk’, so to speak. We see the scheme applying to all aircraft between 5.7 tonnes and 20 tonnes, or carrying less than 20 passengers. We have already started to set up the association, and our aim is to be ready by the end of this year, or perhaps in early 2009.” The cost to members will include a membership fee and then a payment for carbon offset credits, also yet to be determined. “There are a wide variety of carbon credits already available,” Mandemaker says. “We want to achieve something that can be defined as a ‘Gold Standard’ but which remains affordable.” “The EU’s environment committee has already told us that our idea is a good one, that they support it one of the few industry initiatives to tackle ETS in an economically viable way. I think our members all support this plan, too. Indeed some of the larger operators are already running their own carbon offsetting programs.” —Robert Hewson Honeywell Synthetic Fuel The Grob SPn Jet: It’s Clean & Green The Grob SPn’s carbon fiber airframe is cleaner to produce than either comparable aluminum aircraft or conventionally cured composite structures, says the German manufacturer. Low curing temperatures of 60-80° Celsius give up to a 25% reduction in primary energy consumption during production. Compared to energy needed for aluminum aircraft production, a 25-38% reduction in CO2 emissions is achieved. On the green front only five kilograms of basic raw materials are required to produce one kilogram of the final product for an SPn, but the number spirals to 33 kilos for one kilo of an aluminum aircraft. There are up to 82% savings in residues from ore extraction, and between 67-90% lower use of non-regenerative resources when the SPn is set against aluminum. Little use of chemical solvents leads to a 16-28% reduction in emissions from non-methane volatile organic compounds. Anodic oxidation, used as a protective coating on metal aircraft, is energy intensive and produces highly toxic waste waters. None of these toxic substances is used for carbon fiber aircraft. —Mike Vines NetJets Carbon Offset Program Gaining Traction NetJets, which rolled out a “green” initiative in September 2007, is realizing single-digit participation in a carbon offset program that allows aircraft shareholders to voluntarily participate in a program to offset emissions from their flights. The program tailors participation fees to correspond with class of aircraft and share size. NetJets is working with 3Degrees in the U.S. and Eco-Securities in Europe to contribute to projects that include reducing methane emissions at coalmines and dairy farms and expanding wind farm use, among others. NetJets president Jim Christiansen told an audience at the recent Aviation Week MRO 2008 Conference & Exhibition that the fractional operator has attracted a 6.2% participation rate among its customers during the first six months of the program. 64 May 20, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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