AIA Executive Report - Aerospace Industries Association

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Q&A With Terry A. Yonkers AIA sat down to talk about alternative fuels in aviation with Terry A. Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics. The Air Force Energy Plan calls for enhancing security by increasing energy supplies, including developing alternative fuels. Such fuels reduce dependence on foreign sources and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Air Force, at the administration’s direction, is taking a leading role in testing alternative fuels for commercial as well as military use. In June, history was made when a Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter in service with the Royal Netherlands Air Force became the first rotorcraft to fly on a 50/50 blend of bio-kerosene and traditional jet fuel. (see cover) Terry A. Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics AIA What are your goals for the use of alternative aviation fuel by the Air Force Yonkers Our goal is to be ready to cost competitively purchase 50 percent of our aviation fuel from alternative sources by 2016. We’re in the process of certifying a number of platforms to fly on a 50/50 mixture of both synthetic fuels and biofuels. Our target dates to achieve these objectives are 2011 and 2013, respectively. AIA Yonkers What aircraft will be using blended fuels first We’ve already flown many platforms on a 50-50 blend with synthetic fuel and JP-8, including the B-1, B-52, C-17, F-4, F-15, F-22, T-38, C-130 and the C-5. We’ve also flown the A-10 Thunderbolt on a 50-50 blend with camelina oil biofuel. I asked the major who flew this plane about his experience and he said, “I couldn’t tell the difference.” AIA Are there any distinctions between using alternative fuels in military as opposed to commercial aircraft Yonkers Jet-A and JP-8 are pretty close. We do things a little differently than commercial companies with the additives we put in the JP-8. What we’re really seeking is a drop-in fuel that can take the place of the JP-8 with the same specifications and performance. As we look down the road, the hope is the mixture would change from 50-50 to 60-40 or 70-30. At some time we may even be able to fly on 100 percent biofuel. AIA How long will it take for biofuels to be used widely in commercial aviation Yonkers I think it’s going to be market driven. The Air Force and DOD are relatively small players in the overall consumption of aviation fuel. We’re probably about eight percent of total aviation use in the USA. If you compare overall fuel use for transportation in the nation, we are less than one percent. So in terms of being able to drive the market there will be other folks, in particular commercial aviation, who will drive the market. But if we can act as the catalyst, to show that we are ready to use biofuels and synfuels, we are hoping that we can generate interest in the private sector to invest in the infrastructure, manufacture and production capabilities that will start the ball rolling. 4 aerospace industries association
AIA What are the key challenges associated with implementing biofuels in aviation Yonkers We may find there are some challenges in acculturation – even though the pilot who flew the A-10 didn’t blink. Before these fuels are put into an aircraft they are tested in engines under any number of conditions. And then they are tested on the aircraft. We want to make sure the performance and safety aspects are there. It may take a little acculturation with pilots across the Air Force, but my sense is that they have a lot of faith that it has been tested on aircraft before it goes into use in the fleet. AIA What are the climate-impact implications of biofuels Yonkers If it isn’t greener than conventional fuels, we’re not going to use it. It has to reduce carbon emissions. Biofuels, by their nature, should be cleaner than the synthetic fuels. We want to be able to find domestic alternative sources of fuel that are equal to or better than JP-8 as far as cost effectiveness comparisons and performance. We’re not going to spend more money than we do on fossil fuels. We want to be able to fly all aircraft on these synthetic and biofuels as part of our energy and national security strategies. AIA Which alternative fuels seem to be the most promising Yonkers We’d leave this up to industry to decide. There’s research into a number of feedstocks and we’re feedstock agnostic. Our message to the industry is that if you can make this work and hit the military fuel specifications, and beat the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of traditional petroleum fuels, we’re not going to pick a favorite. AIA How much of such biofuel might be feasible to purchase Yonkers We’re looking at about 300 million gallons of alternatively-derived fuel on an annual basis. That’s what we would be ready to use if industry can produce it. And our goal is to be there by 2016. We will certify the aircraft to fly on these fuels between 2011 and 2013. AIA So the Air Force feels a sense of mission regarding alternative fuels Yonkers When the administration talks about taking a leadership role, this is it. We won’t be the market drivers necessarily, but hopefully we will send out positive demand signals to the private sector that we are ready to buy. This is going to be a path, not an instant result. The market is going to react depending on what the demand signals are. This is all linked with national security, energy security and economic security policies – and this is one element of trying to achieve the president’s goals. ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (March 31, 2010) President Barack Obama, with the Navy’s F/A-18 Green Hornet, announces additional measures to boost domestic energy production for the nation to include strategic efforts by the Defense Department to enhance energy security. The Navy’s goal is to develop the certification standards for alternative fuel sources derived from renewable sources that are positive or evironmentally neutral and improve availiability and price stability. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O’Brien/Released executive report 5
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AIA Executive Report - Aerospace Industries Association

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