Airbus Group NV agreed to work with companies in Malaysia to study feedstocks in the region that may be suitable for making cleaner jet fuel.
The airplane maker will work with groups such as Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology and Universiti Putra Malaysia, Toulouse-based Airbus said in an e-mailed statement.
“Southeast Asia is a wide and productive region in terms of biomass,” Frederic Eychenne, new energies programme manager, said in the statement. “According to our latest Global Market Forecast, Asia-Pacific will lead in world traffic by 2032.”
The partners will study sustainable feedstocks and evaluate costs and technologies to help drive the commercialisation of cleaner aviation fuel. Airbus is working on similar projects in other parts of the world including Canada, China and Europe.
Airbus and Boeing Co are among plane makers building supply networks for alternative fuel as the industry seeks to cut carbon-dioxide emissions in half by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.
Airlines including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air-France KLM Group already have flown passenger planes using kerosene blended with fuel made from inedible plants and organic waste.
