Special to Matter Network
On November 23, over a windy and rainy morning-time Amsterdam, I enjoyed the distinct pleasure of flying high above the clouds on an airplane powered by green jet fuel.

I have dedicated the last three years to helping my company, Honeywell’s UOP, make this dream a reality. To say it was thrilling to be a part of this event is an understatement as this wasn’t just a flight – it was a window into the future of aviation.

For this flight, expertly piloted by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, UOP provided green jet fuel derived from camelina, an inedible plant that can grow on fallow, unused crop land with wheat and other cereal crops. We blended it with regular jet fuel – split evenly in a 50/50 quantity – and provided it to KLM who, in turn, filled one GE engine of a Boeing 747 with it to power the journey.

This flight not only demonstrated the clear viability of drop-in fuels, but also showed that the performance achieved with fuels derived from second-generation, non-food sources is absolutely equal to traditional ones. It was also the first flight ever completed to run on biofuels with observers other than the pilots and flight engineers. Just three years ago, it was widely believed that drop-in, sustainable aviation fuels were simply not a reality. Now, this flight and previous test flights in the U.S., Japan and New Zealand have shown that UOP’s green jet fuel performs just as well, if not better, than jet fuel derived from petroleum. I’m happy to be on the side of history that believed – and proved – otherwise.

Following the flight, KLM, alongside North Sea Petroleum and Spring Associates, announced a new joint venture called SkyEnergy. The newly-formed company formally declared its commitment to be customers for the commercial production and use of green jet fuels when they are available en masse. I speak for everyone at Honeywell when I say we applaud this commitment – it is as exciting as it is critical. This is the first public promise from an airline ensuring that the future includes biofuels – and what’s rapidly becoming clear is that we are just two to three years away from this time. This places us squarely on the precipice of being able to enact true and meaningful change in terms of finding energy solutions that enhance our quality of life, but don’t diminish precious natural resources.

For those of us who work in energy and have dedicated so much of our lives and careers to finding alternative solutions to current problems, it’s an incredible time. Worldwide we are starting to finally see the hard work of so many green and sustainable advocates make an impact. From the largest corporation to millions of individual citizens – we see people everywhere embracing practices that contribute to the lessening of our energy consumption. As this societal demand for responsible, effective solutions continues to rise, so will the need for products like UOP’s green jet fuel.

Jennifer Holmgren is the General Manager of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit at UOP LLC, helping deliver technologies that utilize renewable resources to the market. She is also the 2003 recipient of the Council for Chemical Research’s (CCR) Malcolm E. Pruitt Award.