Boeing 747 Will Fly For About An Hour In Late January

Sustainable Oils, a producer and marketer of renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value camelina-based biofuels will participate in an historic flight by Japan Airlines (JAL) planned for January 30, 2009. The demonstration flight will make JAL the first Asian carrier to fly on fuel derived from sustainable feedstocks, and the first airline to use camelina-based bio-jet fuel.

"We're proud to have been selected to participate in this historic event," said Tom Todaro, CEO of Sustainable Oils. "We are dedicated to growing the market for camelina across the United States and around the world. This flight will help growers see the tremendous potential for camelina as a renewable energy feedstock."

The company says camelina is well suited to be a sustainable biofuel crop, as it naturally contains high oil content; its oils are low in saturated fat; it is drought resistant and requires less fertilizer and herbicides.

Most importantly, it is an excellent rotation crop with wheat, and it can also grow in marginal land. Camelina does not displace other crops or compete as a food source. It is estimated that the state of Montana alone could support between 2 and 3 million acres of camelina, generating 200 to 300 million gallons of oil each year.

"Camelina is a dedicated energy crop that has the energy properties we need to create a new source of aviation jet fuel," said Billy Glover, managing director, Environmental Strategy, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We're focused on creating sustainable plant-derived jet fuel blends that meet or exceed all of the current jet fuel specification properties, but not at the expense of food crops or water resources. Camelina is a solid match in that regard."

The approximately one-hour demo flight out of Haneda Airport, Tokyo will be operated by JAL staff with no passengers onboard. It will be the final stage in a 12 month process to conclusively confirm the sustainable biofuel's operational performance capabilities and potential commercial viability. The JAL biofuel flight is expected to bring the airline industry significantly closer to finding a suitable sustainable biofuel that will help reduce the impact of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) generated by aviation, while also reducing the industry's reliance on traditional petroleum-based fuels.

"It's been my goal to help make Montana a leader in renewable energy," said Governor Brian Schweitzer. "And today, we've reached an important milestone toward that goal. Through camelina, our state has the potential to create jobs, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and decrease carbon emissions. I look forward to seeing that JAL 747 liftoff in January."

Camelina sativa (false flax), is a flowering plant in the Brassicaceae family, which includes other oilseeds such as mustard and rapeseed. Native to Northern Europe and Central Asia, the plant also thrives in the plains areas of the United States, including Montana. Sustainable Oils officially launched its camelina growers program in the state last year, and is aggressively expanding the number of growers and acres planted.

The fuel for the JAL demo flight was successfully converted from plant-based crude oil to biojet fuel by Honeywell's UOP, a refining technology developer, using proprietary hydro-processing technology to complete the fuel conversion. The fuel was then blended with typical jet fuel to create the 50 percent biofuel blend.

FMI: www.jal.com, www.susoils.com