Aviation

COMAC C919 and ARJ21 completes first SAF Flight

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Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has successfully completed a demonstration flight, where the C919 and ARJ21 both flew on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for the first time.

The two flights departed from Shanghai-Pudong International Airport and Dongying Airport in Shandong Province, demonstrating what COMAC calls ‘good flight performance on Sustainable Aviation Fuel’. Both demonstration flights lasted approximately 1 hour. Both aircrafts were fueled with a 60% No 3 Jet Fuel and a 40% bio-aviation Kerosene developed by Chinese oil company Sinopec.

COMAC's ARJ21 Aircraft being refuelled with SAF for its first flight on SAF

The flights were significant for COMAC, which has been vying to gain a foothold into the highly competitive commercial aircraft market, heavily dominated by the Boeing-Airbus duopoly. Furthermore, most aircrafts which are in service with airlines have been rated to be able to fly on a blend of SAF. These flights would therefore be the first step in the C919 and ARJ21 aircraft’s SAF certification, closing the technological gap between the C919 and the A320/B737 aircraft family.

On a domestic level, this also marks a step in China’s Carbon neutrality goals, with the integration of SAF playing a part in lowering the CO2 emissions, which is one of the goals. In a statement marking this historic moment, COMAC mentioned ‘COMAC has been developing its aircraft with sustainability in mind, so as to develop an environmentally friendly aircraft’.

What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel?

SAF is known as a ‘green fuel’, due to its ability to reduce up to 80% in carbon emissions, relative to the ‘standard’ jet fuels in use today. This is especially important as air travel is projected to increase significantly by approximately 4.3% over the next 20 years, so as to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) can be produced from multiple sources, such as waste oil and fats, green and municipal waste, and non-food crops. SAF could also be produced synthetically by capturing carbon (in the form of gases) from the air.

Aviation

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