Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, and Mohammad Al Bulooki, Executive Vice President Commercial, joined Scott Fancher, Boeing Senior Vice President, at the integrated seawater and agriculture system facility within Masdar City to check on the project’s progress this week.
The
facility is a world first, demonstrating the use of seawater and natural
fertiliser from aquaculture to grow plant biomass which can be converted into
aviation fuel. It is the flagship project of the ‘Sustainable Bioenergy
Research Consortium’ led by the Masdar Institute with members including Etihad
Airways, Boeing, Takreer, GE and Safran.
The
biomass will be harvested in June and the oil extracted from the seeds. The
plan is to have this oil refined to jet fuel and used on an Etihad Airways
flight.