Finnish oil refiner Neste has signed an initial agreement with US carrier Alaska Airlines in an ongoing effort to expand the use of renewable jet fuel.
The agreement will see the companies work to "lay the groundwork for the wider adoption of renewable fuels" in the airline industry.
This is a boost for Neste's renewable jet fuel plans. Three weeks ago it said a planned partnership with Geneva Airport had been cancelled after Swiss authorities refused funding.
That partnership was to see Neste supply several thousand tonnes a year of hydro treated vegetable oil (HVO) — its renewable alternative to jet fuel — to Geneva Airport from the second half of this year. It would eventually replace 1pc of the airport's demand for fossil jet.
Alaska Airline is also looking at optimising approach paths to reduce fuel use, and at increasingly efficient aircraft design.
Neste has a similar agreement with American Airlines (AA), announced in November last year. AA is considering the introduction of HVO to on-ground and in-flight applications.
The aviation sector has targets of carbon-neutral growth by 2020 and a 50pc reduction in net emissions by 2050. Electrification is not a viable solution for commercial aircraft at present, so the introduction of renewable fuels seem the only viable option to achieve such targets.
