OREANDA-NEWS.  This spring, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will start a new series of flights from Oslo to Amsterdam powered by biofuel. The biofuel forms part of an ITAKA* project, providing sustainable fuel for worldwide’s first biojet supply via hydrant system at Oslo Airport. The biojet supply is funded by the European Commission and facilitated by SkyNRG.

With effect from today, biofuel will for the first time be available via hydrant instead of the usual refuelling truck and will use the existing infrastructure at Oslo airport. This is the result of cooperation between Air BP and Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator at Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

"The biofuel flights are part of KLM’s initiatives to reduce its CO2 emissions. As ITAKA’s launching customer, I’m delighted to confirm that KLM plans to continue its involvement with ITAKA by using the new biofuel in Oslo. After cooperating previously with ITAKA within the scope of a series of biofuel flights from Amsterdam to Bonaire in 2014, KLM will use this fuel this spring to initiate a new series of flights from Oslo to Amsterdam. The flights will be operated using KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer 190s Inka Pieter, Director CSR & Environmental Strategy at KLM"

In addition to using biofuel from the hydrant system, some of the biofuel for KLM will be delivered by refuelling trucks. In cooperation with Embraer, biofuel efficiency will be assessed in comparison with kerosene. KLM previously conducted similar tests in cooperation with Boeing and Airbus.

KLM’s current aim is to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% in 2020 (compared to 2011 levels) through fleet renewal, using sustainable biofuel and increasing flight efficiency. KLM is best in class when it comes to fuel efficiency and is leading in using sustainable biofuel.

The flights have also been made possible by the partners of the Corporate BioFuel programme, which this week expanded to include ABN AMRO. The corporations that participate in the KLM Corporate BioFuel Programme pay a surcharge that covers the price difference between sustainable biofuel and traditional kerosene. This investment is fully utilised by KLM to purchase sustainable biofuel, which is added to the fuel pumped into KLM aircraft at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and elsewhere, like Oslo. Consequently, the participating corporations reduce CO2 emissions resulting from their business travel, but also contribute to the further development of the biofuel market.

 ITAKA: Initiative Towards SustAinable Kerosene for Aviation. ITAKA, a consortium of leading aerospace and fuel companies, was established to produce sustainable biofuel for use in aviation. ITAKA is a cooperative project funded by the European Commission. The project aims to produce sustainable, renewable jet fuel and to test its use in existing logistics systems and during regular flight operations within Europe.