ISSUE 3 2011


NEWS ANALYSIS/CLASSIFIEDS


Barriers to biofuels hold back green aviation, say experts


Biofuels look increasingly likely to play a significant role in improving the environmental performance of the air cargo industry and aviation in general. However, there are still major issues surrounding their large-scale commercial use. Those were two of the key points to emerge from a recent conference in Frankfurt, Germany,


based biofuels to replace current standard aviation fuel and reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other harmful emissions from aircraft. Delegates to the ‘Cargo Climate Care – Energy Efficiency in Air Cargo’


conference, organised Karl-Heinz Köpfle


attended by more than 200 representatives from the logistics sector, science and politics, which focused on the potential of plant-


by German carrier Lufthansa Cargo, heard that considerable progress had been made recently with biofuel technology and securing the necessary approvals to start using that fuel in aircraft. Lufthansa, for example, reported plans to shortly start trialling the use of biofuel in A321 aircraft operating its scheduled passenger service between Frankfurt and Hamburg. However, several speakers warned that there were major issues relating to biofuels which would have to be resolved if they were to be used on a large scale, including the availability of the raw materials required to produce them. “At the moment, there are two drawbacks to the use of biofuels – non-availability and the cost compared with standard aviation fuel,” admitted Joachim Buse, Lufthansa’s vice president


.....HAZARDOUS.....


aviation biofuel. Earlier, Karl-Heinz Köpfle, Lufthansa Cargo’s board member operations, told the conference that while everyone wanted to see “great breakthroughs” in new technology to improve the environmental performance of the air cargo sector and general aviation industry, that was unlikely to happen. “True progress will only be made with a number of very small steps taken by many people and institutions in many parts of the world in parallel,” he stated. “What is really important is that the steps go in the same direction and that together they lead to some big improvements.” Köpfle said Lufthansa had continued with efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its operations even during the recent global economic crisis. “We have significantly increased our fuel efficiency; we have started using lighter


containers (20% lighter than conventional air freight units) and that will be increased; and in the mid-term we will have lighter aircraft. In the longer-term,


alternative fuels will be used, not only in aircraft but also on the ground.” One


other logistics-specific environmental project planned by Lufthansa Cargo, continued Köpfle, involved working with a research institute to develop a “resource efficient” air cargo centre model. “The result of that work will be used in the planning of our future air cargo transhipment hub at Frankfurt,” he added. Köpfle


concluded by


highlighting what he claimed was another major development which could help significantly reduce aircraft emissions – the creation of a Single European Sky (managing European air traffic control centrally rather than, as at present, on a national basis). “With a Single European Sky, annually up to 50 million tonnes of aircraft carbon emissions (around 12% of the present total) could be avoided. At the same time, such a development would also, because of reduced costs, make more investment available for new technologies,” he suggested.


A Hull University academic is urging companies to consider the benefits of ‘nearporting’ to help cut their carbon footprint and reduce costs. Professor David Menachof, Peter Thompson Chair of Port Logistics at Hull University Business School, says that bringing goods into the port nearest the chosen distribution centre minimises the amount carbon required to transport the goods to their final destination by minimising ‘carbon heavy’ road miles while maximising the distance covered by sea.


Using the example of a 20-tonne shipment from China that would normally be discharged in Southampton and taken by lorry to


Leeds, Professor Menachof


explains: “If that container was transported onwards by sea to Immingham on the Humber, and then driven to Leeds, the effects would be an additional 317 nautical miles by sea; however, road transport would be reduced from 240 miles to just 73 miles, which is a reduction of 167 road miles. Because ocean shipping puts out approximately six times less CO2 per tonne-kilometre, the net effect for this shipment is a 200 kg reduction in CO2 output.”


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Get in close, urges Hull academic


Moreover, by transferring volume to ports close to manufacturing sites, total supply chain costs and carbon can be reduced, he continues. In fact, the ‘nearporting’ concept has been around for centuries, even millennia. It was only with containerisation that ship operators sought to develop hub ports linked by road or rail with their hinterlands, in order to minimise port rotations times in Europe and get deepsea vessels moving back to their point of origin in Asia as quickly as possible.


However, rising land transport costs and concerns over carbon emissions may require this model to be rethought, says Professor Menachof: “As fuel costs rise and the world shines an ever brighter spotlight on the environmental impact of logistics, firms have to look for savings by using the most efficient and friendly mode of transport available.”


Moreover: “Companies will see rewards by using a nearporting solution. Costs will decrease, and we will see consumers rewarding firms who are actively seeking reductions in carbon footprint.”


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