GERMANY: European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) presents "the world's first plane powered with bio fuel based on algae"

Record ID: 573889

  • Title: GERMANY: European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) presents "the world's first plane powered with bio fuel based on algae"
  • Date: 11th June 2010
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JUNE 09, 2010) (REUTERS) EADS SIGN READING IN ENGLISH "1ST FLIGHT WITH PURE BIO FUEL FROM ALGAE" VISITORS AT EADS STAND WIDE OF "DIAMOND DA42 NEW GENERATION" AT STAND VARIOUS DETAILS OF PLANE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EADS VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION NETWORK, JOHANNES STUHLBERGER, SAYING "The algae fuel has the benefit of a higher energy content, by 5 to 10 percent. The benefit in addition is that the exhaust quality is better than with the current conventional kerosene. The combustion is more complete so we have less hydro carbons, less CO2, less sulphur, no sulphur." VISITORS LOOKING AT ALGAE FUEL PRODUCTION IN PROCESS AT EADS STAND PIPES WITH ALGAE FUEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) EADS VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION NETWORK, JOHANNES STUHLBERGER, SAYING "The production of bio fuel can be made everywhere. What you need is sunlight, is CO2, nutrition and the place to do it. As it is all balanced, it is not necessary to go to the place where you have the most sun. It is the place where you have all of it. So therefore, we can produce it here. You see it in the back (points). We have an example of bio fuel production here in Berlin." VISITORS LOOKING AT ALGAE FUEL PRODUCTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) EADS VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION NETWORK, JOHANNES STUHLBERGER, SAYING "Aviation cannot avoid combustion in the long run so therefore, the best idea to avoid CO2 is to collect it on the other side. So we feed the CO2 into the algae, the algae produces higher chains of carbon hydrogen and out of that oil which is within the cells of the algae, we produce the fuel." SIGN READING IN GERMAN "1ST FLIGHT WITH PURE BIOFUEL FROM ALGAE" ALGAE FUEL PRODUCTION IN PROCESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) EADS VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION NETWORK, JOHANNES STUHLBERGER, SAYING "I can not tell you how much a litre of algae fuel will ultimately cost but it is incredibly more expensive. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached a level where we can produce it in large quantities and sell it." VISITORS LOOKING AT ALGAE FUEL PRODUCTION (SOUNDBITE) (German) EADS VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION NETWORK, JOHANNES STUHLBERGER, SAYING "I would estimate it will take another five to ten years until we can produce it commercially."
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA9B4JXNK052STWD74L1HQBF84S
  • Story Text: The world's first plane powered with bio fuel based on algae recently took off for a spin at Berlin's international air show ILA, developed by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).
    Engineers involved with the prototype plane, a small "Diamond DA42 New Generation," said they had to make no changes to run the aircraft on the new type of biological fuel.
    "The algae fuel has the benefit of a higher energy content, by 5 to 10 percent. The benefit in addition is that the exhaust quality is better than with the current conventional kerosene," said EADS vice president Johannes Stuhlberger.
    The head of the company's global innovation network said "the production of bio fuel can be made everywhere. What you need is sunlight, is CO2, nutrition and the place to do it. As it is all balanced, it is not necessary to go to the place where you have the most sun. It is the place where you have all of it. So therefore, we can produce it here," Stuhlberger said, pointing to a showcase production line where algae bio fuel was made at the EADS stand at the Berlin air show.
    EADS concedes that the production of algae-based bio fuel is not cheap.
    "I cannot tell you how much a litre of algae fuel will ultimately cost but it is incredibly more expensive. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached a level where we can produce it in large quantities and sell it."
    Asked how long the world needed to wait until aircraft could operate on algae bio fuel, Stuhlberger said "I would estimate it will take another five to ten years."
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