Brazilian Airline GOL to Make First International Commercial Flights With Newly Approved Amyris-Total Aviation Biofuel
July 09 2014 - 8:00AM
Amyris (Nasdaq:AMRS) has partnered with Brazilian airline GOL
(NYSE:GOL) to begin the first commercial route with farnesane, the
recently approved renewable jet fuel.
GOL has committed to fly its Boeing 737 fleet with up to a 10
percent blend of the renewable fuel on its U.S. to Brazil routes
starting with initial flights later this month. Supported by Boeing
(NYSE:BA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other
partners, Amyris is working to bring this new, renewable jet fuel
to commercial airlines starting with Brazil's GOL Airlines.
"We at Amyris are thrilled that GOL will be using our renewable
jet fuel blend for their flight route from the United States to
Brazil, the first of what we expect to be many routes with the
world's leading airlines. With our partner Total, Amyris is working
to support the performance goals set by the aviation industry by
bringing to market a drop-in, low-carbon jet fuel solution," said
John Melo, President & CEO at Amyris.
Developed by Amyris, an industrial bioscience company, and
Total, one of the world's leading energy companies, this new
aviation renewable fuel meets the rigorous performance requirements
set for Jet A/A-1 fuel used by the global commercial aviation
industry. On June 15, ASTM revised the ASTM for jet fuel standard,
paving the way for airlines to use Synthesized Iso-Paraffin (SIP)
farnesane as a jet fuel component in commercial airlines globally.
When produced sustainably, farnesane can reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions by up to 80% on a lifecycle basis compared to traditional
petroleum fuels.
"This low carbon and sustainable biofuel is part of a major
commitment of GOL to address the IATA Carbon Neutral Growth 2020
Program. We are working closely with the Brazilian Biojet Fuel
Platform to achieve the 1% blend milestone in early 2016, beginning
with more than 200 sustainable flights during the World Cup in
Brazil," said Pedro Scorza, Director of Technical Operations from
GOL. "Using the Amyris-Total renewable jet fuel in our flight route
from the United States to Brazil is another way to bring public
awareness to the importance of sustainable fuel solutions to the
global environment."
The global aviation industry has committed to aggressive goals
to reduce its GHG emissions, including achieving carbon neutral
growth by 2020 and reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2050
compared to 2005. In addition to improving the efficiency of
airplanes and flight operations, sustainable aviation biofuel
represents a major opportunity for commercial aviation to reduce
emissions. Approved renewable jet fuels are drop-in and can be
blended directly with petroleum jet fuel without any changes to
airplanes, engines or fueling infrastructure.
"As part of Boeing's long-term commitment to advance sustainable
aviation biofuel, we are pleased to work alongside our customer
GOL, as well as Amyris and Total, to support the first commercial
flights using a farnesane blend," said Julie Felgar, Boeing
Commercial Airplanes managing director of Environmental Strategy
and Integration.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, industry
studies have shown that farnesane reduces particulate matter
emissions by 3%, reducing pollution near airports and major
metropolitan areas. This renewable jet fuel, which is made in
Brazil from sugarcane, can be up to 30% more efficient in land use
compared to other renewable fuels (by liters/hectare) and it could
become approximately 70% more efficient than such fuels when new
technologies, like sugar from cellulosic feedstocks, become
commercially available.
The revised standard, D7566, developed by ASTM Committee on
Petroleum Products, Liquid Fuels, and Lubricants, now includes the
use of renewable farnesane as a blending component in jet fuels for
commercial aviation. This latest version of ASTM D7566, Standard
Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized
Hydrocarbons, will allow a biomass-based renewable jet fuel, as
developed by Amyris and Total, to support the commercial airliners'
goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
About Amyris
Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on
providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of
petroleum-sourced products. Amyris uses its industrial bioscience
technology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of
hydrocarbon molecules -- flexible building blocks that can be used
in a wide range of products. Amyris is commercializing these
products both as No CompromiseĀ® renewable ingredients in cosmetics,
flavors and fragrances, polymers, lubricants and consumer products,
and also as No Compromise renewable diesel and jet fuel. Amyris
Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, oversees the establishment
and expansion of Amyris's production in Brazil. More information
about Amyris is available at www.amyris.com.
Amyris Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any
statements other than statements of historical facts could be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements include, among other things, statements regarding future
events (including commencement of commercial flights using
Amyris-Total aviation biofuel and the performance and benefits of
such fuel for the aviation industry and environment) that involve
risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's
current expectations and actual results and future events may
differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including those
associated with Amyris's reliance on third parties to achieve its
goals, competition, delays or failures in product adoption or
acceptance by customers, and other risks detailed in the "Risk
Factors" section of Amyris's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on
May 9, 2014. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information
contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, the Amyris logo and No Compromise are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Amyris, Inc.
Media & Investor Relations
+1 (510) 740-7481
info@amyris.com
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