Boeing, Embraer team for aviation biofuel

An aviation biofuel research center has been opened in Brazil by Boeing and Embraer that will coordinate and co-fund local research efforts.

The research, to help create an aviation biofuel industry in the country, will focus on technologies such as feedstock production, techno-economic analysis, economic viability studies and processing technologies, Boeing said.

"Boeing and Embraer, two of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers, are partnering in an unprecedented way to make more progress on sustainable aviation biofuel than one company can do alone," said Donna Hrinak, president, Boeing Brazil and Boeing Latin America. "Brazil, a pioneer in the sustainable fuels industry, will play a leading role in establishing the biofuels industry and helping meet aviation's environmental goals."

The establishment of the center follows earlier collaboration of biofuel development, including workshops and the publishing of a roadmap that identified gaps in establishing an aviation biofuel industry.

"Our purpose is to support work on developing and maturing the knowledge and technologies needed to establish a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil with global reach," said Mauro Kern, Embraer executive vice president of Engineering and Technology. "Brazil has shown its potential and is already a benchmark for the clean-energy industry, having created very successful ethanol and biodiesel industries."