UK government to fund development of waste-based fuels for planes and trucks

As part of plans to promote clean alternative fuels, the government is offering US$28 million (£22 million) in funding for projects in the UK to develop low carbon waste-based fuels for planes and lorries, with matching funding from industry. Trials of sustainable jet fuel, made from waste materials, have taken place in Europe and North America and now the launch of a UK competition intends that British experts will conduct pioneering research in this sector. The Department for Transport has already had int
August 30, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

As part of plans to promote clean alternative fuels, the government is offering US$28 million (£22 million) in funding for projects in the UK to develop low carbon waste-based fuels for planes and lorries, with matching funding from industry.

Trials of sustainable jet fuel, made from waste materials, have taken place in Europe and North America and now the launch of a UK competition intends that British experts will conduct pioneering research in this sector.

The 1837 Department for Transport has already had interest from more than 70 groups in bidding for the funding.

The new fuels are chemically very similar to conventional fuels, so can be used in existing aircraft without the need for any engine modifications.

The government believes low carbon transport fuels made from waste materials could be worth US$775 million (£600 million) a year to the British economy by 2030, and could also support up to 9,800 new jobs. It says planes and lorries powered by waste fuels could use up to 90 per cent less carbon than traditional fossil fuels.

UTC

Related Content

  • June 20, 2016
    Thales builds on Canadian connection for transit R&D
    The Canadian province of Ontario is continuing to benefit from its ongoing investment in transit R&D. David Crawford looks at the impact of new investment. Developing the next generation of urban rail signalling solutions worldwide, with the emphasis on transit security and efficiency, is the goal of a recently-created business partnership between the government of the Canadian province of Ontario and Thales Canada. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the France-HQ'd global defence, aerospace and transportation
    Read More
  • February 3, 2012
    Flexibility, interoperability is key to future traffic management
    Jon Taylor of Faber Maunsell and Tabatha Bailey of Transport for London describe how an unusual mix of traffic practitioners, researchers and industry are working together to build new tools for the future. As we face higher expectations for managing congestion from both citizens and politicians, and as more and more data is becoming available from new sources, our traffic management challenge is changing.
    Read More
  • April 30, 2015
    Cable cars come of age in trans-continental expansion
    David Crawford explores a high-level option of public transport. Sharing its origin with that of ski lifts at winter sports resorts in the European Alps, urban aerial cable transport is attracting growing interest as a low-footprint, low-energy alternative to conventional public transport that can swoop over ground-level traffic congestion.
    Read More
  • January 23, 2012
    Changing driving conditions need ongoing driver training
    Trevor Ellis, chairman of the ITS UK Enforcement Interest Group, considers the role of ongoing driver training in increasing compliance. It is over 30 years since I passed my driving test. The world was quite a different place then, in that there were only half the vehicles there are now on the UK's roads, mobile phones did not really exist and (in the UK at least) the vast majority of us drove cars which by today's standards exhibited dreadful dynamic stability and were woefully underpowered.
    Read More

Highlighted Content