Last month, KLM conducted commercial passenger flights partly with sustainably produced synthetic kerosene, as the Dutch industry's latest push to develop alternative fuels for aviation.
Details of the historic flight were revealed during a conference on sustainable aviation synthetic fuels being held in The Hague today.
KLM flights from Schiphol airport to Madrid were carried out with a mixture of 500 liters of sustainable synthetic kerosene. Shell produces synthetic kerosene in Amsterdam from CO2, water and renewable solar and wind energy.
KLM CEO Pieter Elbers said: “I am proud that KLM is operating the industry's first airline today using synthetic kerosene made from renewable sources. The transition from fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives is one of the biggest challenges in aviation.
“Fleet renewal contributes significantly to reducing CO2 emissions, but increased production and sustainable use of aviation fuel will make the biggest difference to current aircraft generations. That's why we partnered with several partners recently, to drive the development of sustainable synthetic kerosene. This first flight on synthetic kerosene shows that it is possible in practice and we can move forward. "
Shell Holland CEO Marjan van Loon described the flight as an important first step, adding: "Together with our partners, we now need to scale, accelerate and make them commercially viable."
The Netherlands has excelled in promoting sustainable aviation fuel projects, and the Dutch government has supported various initiatives to stimulate production and use, making them commercially viable.
In particular, it includes the construction of Europe's first sustainable biokerosene plant in Delfzijl, where SkyNRG is working with KLM, Schiphol Airport and SHV Energy.
Details of other ongoing initiatives were also released during the conference. They include a project in which the Synkero startup collaborates with the Ports of Amsterdam, Schiphol, KLM and SkyNRG on a commercially sustainable synthetic kerosene plant. In addition, energy company Uniperjhas has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zenid consortium, which includes the Rotterdam airprot, Climeworks and SkyNRG, to support the engineering and operation of a live CO2 capture demonstration plant.