An airplane taking off in Germany. alvarez / E+ / Getty Images By Natalie Muller and Neil King On the day that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a commitment to reach “net zero” CO2 emissions by 2050,the nonprofit organization Atmosfair has opened the world’s first plant to produce carbon-neutral jet fuel. The group, which offers offsets for emissions from flights , announced Monday that its site in Emsland, in northern Germany, is expected to begin producing eight barrels (about 1 ton) of synthetic kerosene a day in early 2022. Atmosfair did not disclose how much the project cost or how it was funded. Synthetic kerosene, also called e-kerosene or power-to-liquid (PtL), is seen as having huge potential to slash the aviation industry’s carbon footprint. But there are a few reasons the green fuel hasn’t taken off yet. Flying is one of the most carbon-intensive ways to travel because planes are powered by fossil-based kerosene. The aviation sector is responsible for around 2 to 3% of global CO2 emissions, and it wants to reduce its footprint to half of 2005 levels by 2050. But decarbonization is going to be a huge challenge. Why Synthetic Kerosene? E-kerosene is a […]
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