Air Canada will save an estimated 160 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) on 22 domestic flights this Earth Day through an innovative biofuel demonstration project at Toronto-Pearson Airport. Under the project, coordinated by Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI), Air Canada is introducing 230 000 litres of sustainable biofuel blended into the airport's multi-user fuel supply system to show the feasibility of biofuel use in shared fueling systems at Canadian airports.
Hosted by the Canadian Biofuel Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI) to mark the introduction of biojet fuels into Toronto Pearson International Airport’s shared fuel system. Air Canada, the nation’s largest domestic and international airline, is being joined by representatives from the Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), and other stakeholders.
Air Canada is proud of its leading role in this biofuel project, the first of its kind in Canada, which will advance the use of low-carbon renewable fuels in Canada by demonstrating they can be used in shared fuel systems at airports. Our participation is one way Air Canada is reducing its footprint and also helping our entire industry improve its environmental performance, said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.
Held in conjunction with Earth Day to celebrate the completion of the operation of this research project with Air Canada as lead partner and which will introduce 230 000 litres of sustainable biofuel into Toronto Pearson’s shared airport fuel system.
Since 1990, Air Canada has improved its fuel efficiency by 43 percent. We have also committed to meet ambitious targets set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. These efforts and our other green initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste were recognized when Air Transport World recently named Air Canada the Eco-Airline of the Year for 2018, said Rovinescu.
Although biojet has been consumed in Canada in the past, all previous projects have required dedicated tanker trucks directly fueling aircraft. This project at Toronto Pearson is the first to blend biojet into the existing multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel supply system, thereby highlighting its feasibility and improving process efficiency.
Carbon savings from the biofuel blended into the Toronto Pearson system will be accredited to Air Canada domestic flights from Toronto on Earth Day, effectively making those flights less carbon intensive. These unique fuel operations are part of CBSCI, a three-year collaborative project between 14 stakeholder organizations working to enable a biojet supply chain in Canada.
Primary funding for the project, apart from the fuel purchase by Air Canada, comes from the Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), a non-profit organization funded by the Canadian aerospace industry and Canada’s federal Network of Centres of Excellence.
