Air Transport

Expect the USA to continue to stimulate the market for alternative fuels in both civilian and military arenas in 2007.

Late last year, the US Air Force reached another milestone in its testing of a natural gas-based fuel in jet engines when a B-52 flew from Andrews Air Force base with synthetic fuel in all eight engines for the first time.

The military and airlines are interested in fuel from the Fischer-Tropsch process because it is made from any fossil fuel or carbon-based feedstock, producing emissions slightly cleaner than traditional petrol fuels.

The US military is also planning to issue a tender for synthetic fuels switched from natural gas to coal simply because of the level of available resources. Meanwhile in the civil world, there is a strong likelihood that manufacturers will move to establish generic approvals for a 50% synthetic fuel blend for use in civil aero engines.