Chile's Sky signs biofuel pact with PetroAlgae

Chile’s Sky Airline has signed an agreement with Florida-based renewable energy company PetroAlgae to purchase biomass feedstock for conversion into jet fuel.

Under the non-binding agreement, Sky will purchase feedstock produced by licensees of PetroAlgae’s technology with the aim of converting it into jet fuel for use in the airline’s operations.

PetroAlgae develops photosynthetic harvested micro-crops, which it believes will eventually result in commercial scale, drop-in fuels which could be used in aviation.

Its technology enables algae to be cultivated at more than four times its natural growth rate.

“With PetroAlgae’s commercial scale biomass from micro-crops, we hope to develop clean renewable jet fuel in existing refineries, which will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and create green jobs in the process,” says Sky director Holger Paulmann.