Leading Airline in Brazil Seeks to Use Amyris's Sugarcane-Derived Jet Fuel Following Industry Validation and Regulatory Approvals
Amyris and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding that could pave the way for GOL commercial flights to use Amyris renewable jet fuel in 2014. The anticipated partnership was announced during the first commercial flight with a renewable jet fuel in Brazil by the airline.
“GOL is committed to making commercial aviation more efficient and sustainable. Our experimental flight with renewable jet fuel at the Rio+20 in 2012 was an important step to guide our work. Today, we advance one more step,” said Adalberto Bogsan, Vice President of GOL
Under the memorandum of understanding, GOL and Amyris will work together to establish a framework for bringing Amyris renewable jet fuel produced from Brazilian sugarcane to GOL’s commercial flights following regulatory approvals and validation by standard-setting bodies, including ASTM International and Brazil’s Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP).
The partnership, under of auspices of the Brazilian Biofuels Platform, an industry and government-supported initiative to encourage the use of renewable fuels in aviation, was announced at Brazilian Aviation Day celebration, which included participation of Brazil’s Secretary of Civil Aviation, Minister Moreira Franco, and a number of industry stakeholders including Brazilian Airlines Association (ABEAR), Brazilian Biodiesel and Biojet Association (UBRABIO), GE, and Boeing among others
“GOL supports all initiatives to help make Brazilian aviation more sustainable,” says Paulo Kakinoff, President of GOL. During this past year, the airline’s fuel saving initiatives have helped it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 30 thousand tons.
Lifecycle analysis indicates that the Amyris renewable jet fuel could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% or more when compared to convention fossil-derived jet fuel. Amyris has applied for certification under theRoundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and is a member of Bonsucro, the world’s leading sugarcane sustainability standard
“We are committed to working with the aviation industry to bring cleaner skies, starting in Brazil in 2014. Following two successful demonstration flights and a series of successful tests with multiple industry stakeholders, we look forward to receiving ASTM validation and ANP approval of our breakthrough renewable jet fuel produced from Brazilian sugarcane,” said John Melo, Amyris’s President & CEO.
Amyris operates a production facility, located adjacent to the Paraíso sugarcane mill in Brotas, São Paulo in Brazil, to convert sugars into a renewable hydrocarbon, farnesene, which can be processed into a drop-in renewable jet fuel compliant with Jet A/A-1 specifications following regulatory and industry approvals.
During 2013, GOL completed a number of projects and has established even more solid partnerships. In September, GOL participated in the launch of the Céus Verdes do Brasil Project (“Brazilian Green Skies” in Portuguese), which aims to improve the efficiency of Brazilian airspace. And today, GOL makes history by being the first airline to make a commercial flight with a renewable jet fuel in Brazil.
Source: Amyris
About GOL
GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (BM&FBovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers around 970 daily flights to 65 destinations in 10 countries in South America, Caribbean and the United States under the GOL and VARIG brands, using a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, the safest, most efficient and most economical of their type. The SMILES loyalty program allows members to accumulate miles and redeem tickets to more than 560 locations around the world via flights with foreign partner airlines. The Company also operates Gollog, a logistics service that retrieves and delivers cargo and packages to and from more than 3,500 cities in Brazil and eight abroad. With its portfolio of innovative products and services, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes offers the best cost-benefit ratio in the market. More information about GOL is available at www.voegol.com.br
Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of molecules — flexible building blocks that can be used in a wide range of products. Amyris’s initial portfolio of commercial products is based on Biofene®, Amyris’s brand of renewable farnesene, a long-chain hydrocarbon. Amyris is commercializing these products both as No Compromise® renewable ingredients in cosmetics, flavors and fragrances, polymers, lubricants and consumer products, and also as No Compromise renewable diesel and jet fuel. Amyris Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, oversees the establishment and expansion of Amyris’s production in Brazil. More information about Amyris is available at www.amyris.com.
Amyris Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including those associated with any delays or failures in development, production or commercialization of products, liquidity and ability to fund capital expenditures, Amyris’s reliance on third parties to achieve its goals, and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of Amyris’s Form 10-K, as filed annually. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Article source: http://www.worldofbioenergy.com/biofuels_news/amyris_to_enter_partnership_to_supply_renewable_jet_fuel_to_braz.html
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