The next plane that you board from a British airport could be fuelled by the very same things that you put into your rubbish bin to be sent to a landfill due to a new government scheme to promote clean alternative fuels.
The British government is offering funding, with matching funding from industry, for the development of low carbon waste-based fuels for lorries and planes. This is aimed to revolutionise the motor industry by going further than electric cars.
Existing sustainable jet fuel from waste materials trails have already taken place across Europe and North America, and now the U.K aims to join them in this field. Low carbon transport fuels derived from waste materials is said to be worth up to £600 million by 2030 and be responsible for generating up to 9,800 new jobs.
Transport Minister Jesse Norman has said: “We are committed to cutting carbon emissions and promoting new environmentally-friendly fuels that will help us meet that goal.
We are making funding available to innovative businesses which will lead the way in developing alternative fuels that are efficient, sustainable and clean.
We want every new car and van in the UK to be zero emission by 2040, but we know lorries and aeroplanes will rely on more traditional fuels for years to come so we must promote environmentally friendly alternatives.”
Lorries and planes could use up to 90% less carbon if they were to be powered by waste fuels. Likewise, this would help attain the 2050 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
