Gol Aviation

Brazilian airline GOL has successfully flown an aircraft powered by Amyris’ newly approved total aviation biofuel, farnesane, from Orlando to Sao Paulo, making it the first Amyris biofuel-powered international commercial flight.

GOL flew a Boeing 737 with a 10% blend of the sugarcane-derived renewable farnesane fuel on 30 July and has committed to powering its entire Boeing 737 fleet with a blend of the biofuel.

According to Amyris, farnesane is capable of bringing down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% compared with petroleum fuels.

When mixed with Jet A/A1 fuel at 10%, farnesane is also able to reduce particulate matter emissions, cutting down on pollution near airports and major metropolitan areas.

"According to Amyris, farnesane is capable of bringing down GHG emissions by up to 80% compared with petroleum fuels."

In addition, farnesane is drop-in and can be mixed directly with petroleum jet fuel without any modifications to aircraft, engines or fuelling infrastructure.

As part of the effort to support biofuel-powered flights, Boeing is collaborating with Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer to establish a joint research centre to foster the research and development of sustainable aviation biofuel.

The global aviation industry is aiming to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020 and a 50% decrease in emissions by 2050 compared to 2005. About 1,500 biofuel-powered passenger flights have been conducted with biofuel since it was approved for use in 2011.

Image: GOL’s Boeing 737-800 being fuelled with Amyris-Total Renewable Jet Fuel. Photo: courtesy of Amyris.

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