Despite certain setbacks, the march ahead continues for the development of alternative fuels for various forms of transportation. For air travel, many research-based partnerships are being formed. On the ground, some fuels are not holding their own.
According to a recent survey from Washington, DC-based think tank Pew Research Center, a majority of adults living in all 50 US states said they favor the development of alternative energy over that of more conventional carbon-based sources.
Based on interviews conducted Feb. 13-18 among a national sample of 1,504 adults, Pew reported that more Americans surveyed said the priority for addressing the nation's energy supply should be to develop alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, and hydrogen, over increasing production of oil, coal, and natural gas, by a 54% to 34% margin.
"Since 2011," Pew's report says, "the public has prioritized alternative sources over expanding production. Last October, the gap had narrowed: 47% said the priority should be developing alternative sources while 39% said the focus should be on expanding oil, coal, and natural gas."
Fuels take flight
Late last summer Airbus made a push for the development of alternative fuels through a partnership with Tsinghua University. The airline and the university completed a sustainability analysis of Chinese feedstocks to evaluate how best to support the development of a value chain to accelerate the commercialization of aviation biofuels. "The value chain aims to produce and to promote the use of aviation biofuel in China—the world's fastest growing aviation market," the partners said.
In the first phase of development, the partnership assessed "suitable feedstocks that comply with ecological, economic, and social sustainability criteria." Phase two will narrow down the "most promising" alternative fuel solutions.
The goal is to select a number of feedstocks including used cooking oil and algae. The partners expected to have completed a full sustainability analysis by early this year. The partners will then examine "scaling-up the alternative fuel production process to achieve sustainable quantities of aviation fuel for commercial use."
Separately, another partnership formed earlier this month between the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Spanish Aviation and Safety and Security Agency. FAA and SASSA signed a declaration of cooperation to "promote the development of sustainable alternative aviation fuels" in the US and Spain. Under the agreement, the countries "will exchange information and ideas to collaborate on projects of mutual interest in developing alternative aviation fuels."
US Deputy Sec. of Transportation John Porcari said the agreement was signed as part of the agency's NextGen air traffic modernization goals. In addition to sharing information about research and development activities, the two aviation regulatory agencies will be looking to share best practices about alternative jet fuel conversion.
"Spain also has an ambitious and innovative alternative jet fuels R&D program, the involvement of all the key stakeholders, and the agricultural resources to support aviation biofuel production," Porcari said.
Hydrogen's rough road
Meanwhile, it's been a difficult transition for hydrogen as an alternative motor fuel in the Netherlands. The Dutch government and industry appear to have overlooked the organizational aspects of a reliable infrastructure for hydrogen's use as a motor fuel.
So says a study from the Energy Delta Gas Research, which conducts research on gas and sustainability. Government and industry have "restricted their attention to technology, market, and policies," said Daniel Scholten, assistant professor at Delft University of Technology.
Hydrogen, already produced and distributed, serves manufacturing purposes in the chemical industry. Scholten notes that while hydrogen was much-hyped in 2005 by the European Union, "it has more [of a] chance being used in niche applications rather than…as the main fuel for the transport sector in the future."
Current plans make it difficult to implement a reliable infrastructure for hydrogen as motor fuel. "If the Netherlands thinks about developing future energy systems," Scholten said, "they should not only think about the typical cost-benefit analysis. They should also think about which organizational arrangements are needed once the infrastructure is in place."