Boeing Makes Biofuel Agreement With Chinese Companies.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer (5/27, Cohen) "Aerospace News" blog reported, "Boeing, PetroChina and Chinese energy and aviation industry representatives Thursday announced an agreement to evaluate establishing a sustainable aviation biofuels industry in China." This evaluation, to begin next month, "will look at all phases of biofuel development and supports a broader sustainable aviation biofuel agreement between China's National Energy Administration and the US Trade and Development Agency, Boeing said." The article noted "Air China, PetroChina, Boeing and Honeywell's UOP have agreed to conduct an inaugural flight in China using sustainable biofuel derived from biomass grown and processed in that country."

USAF States It Will "Easily Meet" Blended Fuel Goal In 2011.

Flight International (6/8, Decker) reports the USAF feels it is "confident it will easily meet a 2011 goal by certificating its entire turbine fleet to burn blended fuel, half of which will be converted from coal or natural gas." The article explains the USAF's increasing relationship with synthetic jet fuels over the past few years, and their growing reliance in the future. "Real progress means being able to make large-scale, cost-effective purchases of alternative fuels," says USAF undersecretary Erin Conaton. "We need help from industry leaders so that by our 2016 goal year, we can competitively acquire half of our domestic aviation fuel requirement via an alternative fuel blend."

EADS To Show Off Algae-Based Biofuel.

Flight Daily News (6/8, O'Keeffe) reported EADS plans to reveal an "environmental breakthrough" at Berlin's ILA show "by flying an aircraft powered by a biofuel composed purely of algae." The flights utilize a Diamond DA42 light twin powered by Austro Engine AE300s and "As a result of algae's higher energy content, fuel burn will be 1.5 litres per hour (0.4USgal/h) lower than if conventional Jet-A1 fuel were used," says EADS.