Air Canada, Canada’s leading domestic and international airline is all set to participate in the Civil Aviation Alternate Fuel Contrail and Emissions Research project (CAAFCER), a research project led by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). CAAFCER tests the environmental benefits of biofuel use on contrails. The project will involve the use of sophisticated sensing equipment mounted on a research aircraft operated by the NRC. It will assess the impact of biofuel blends on contrail formation by aircraft on five biofuel flights operated by Air Canada between Montreal and Toronto. The National Research Council of Canada will trail the Air Canada aircraft with a customised T-33 research jet to sample and test the contrail biofuel emissions during these flights. The sustainable biofuel is produced by AltAir Fuels from used cooking oil and supplied by SkyNRG.
“We are pleased to support Canada’s research on the additional benefits of aviation biofuel. This project is an important step in furthering the industry’s understanding of how biofuel reduces aviation’s carbon footprint and overall environmental impact,” said Teresa Ehman, director, Environmental Affairs at Air Canada. “Air Canada recognizes its environmental responsibilities and the importance of understanding and integrating environmental considerations into our business decisions.”
“The National Research Council of Canada is proud to collaborate with our Canadian partners on this important research that will further reveal the viability of biofuels. By contributing our unique T-33 research aircraft specializing in contrail data collection and our expertise in emissions analysis, we hope to provide key information toward biofuel inclusion in all future flights,” said Jerzy Komorowski, general manager of NRC’s Aerospace portfolio.
“We significantly improve airplane fuel efficiency through constant technology and operational improvements,” said Sheila Remes, vice president of strategy at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “But additional efforts are required to achieve aviation’s ambitious carbon-reduction targets. Sustainable aviation fuels have the single greatest potential to reach those goals. Boeing is committed to supporting projects like this around the world to advance aviation’s knowledge and growing use of biofuel.”
This project involves six stakeholder organisations, with primary funding from the Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), a non-profit organisation funded by the Business-Led Network of Centres of Excellence of the Government of Canada and the Canadian aerospace industry. The project has further financial support from the NRC and the enabling support of Air Canada ground and flight operations.
Apart from Air Canada, other CAAFCER partners include Boeing, National Research Council Canada (NRC), SkyNRG, University of Alberta, and Waterfall.
