Qantas has struck an agreement with US bio-energy company SG Preston to use biofuels on its flights from Los Angeles International airport from 2020.

The Oneworld carrier says that it will purchase 30 million litres of a 50/50 blend of plant-derived biofuel and conventional fuel to power its flights between Los Angeles and Australia. The blended fuel will have around half the carbon emissions of regular jet fuel over its life cycle.

“Our agreement with SG Preston allows us to secure a supply for our Los Angeles based aircraft where we have a large fuel demand and where the biofuel industry is more advanced,” says Qantas International and Freight chief executive Gareth Evans.

He adds that the airline is also looking to work with Australian-based biofuel suppliers to develop locally produced biofuels for aviation use.

In 2012, Qantas and Jetstar trialled biofuel flights, which used a 50% blend of cooking oil-derived biofuel and conventional fuel.

Source: Cirium Dashboard