Dr Jennifer Holmgren is the chief executive of LanzaTech, which made history last month by powering Virgin Atlantic’s first-ever commercial flight on low-carbon fuel
I was onboard with Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive; Richard [Branson] flagged us in.
It was an important flight because it brought everyone together and created a buzz. The cost of low carbon fuel can be equivalent to the price of oil. This creates demand and so it could influence a travel buyer’s choice of airline, because every time you raise visibility, people start to ask questions. There’s a debate about plastics – and what we can do to reduce waste. Fuel is part of the same movement. We’ve just received £410,000 in funding from the UK government’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight competition. We need to act urgently and it’s important to build production plants globally, and the UK tends to be a leader. I’m excited, and other airlines are already in the pipeline.
