Supported by Mexico’s Sector Fund for Energy Sustainability (SENER-CONACYT), the initiative will be coordinated through the Mexican Bioenergy Innovation Center.
The program is expected to support Mexico’s aviation sector as well as its environmental and socio-economic goals.
Boeing International president Marc Allen said: "To support customers and the aviation industry’s long-term growth, Boeing is proud to partner with Aeromexico and many key stakeholders to move Mexico’s sustainable aviation biofuel industry forward.
"Sustainable jet fuel will play a critical role in reducing aviation’s carbon emissions and will bring a new and innovative industry to Mexico."
Led by the Potosinian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT), the broader aviation biofuel development project is supported by 17 institutions including Aeromexico and Boeing; nine CONACYT research centers; Pemex; QENER; Tratamientos Reciclados del Sureste; the Mexican Petroleum Institute; Masdar Institute of Science and Technology; and the US Joint BioEnergy Institute.
In the first four years, the project would lead to the development of a self-sustaining business model with funding from the Mexican Government and participating institutions.
The program will focus on development of biomass sourcing potentially from jatropha, salt-tolerant Salicornia and sewage sludge, as well as fuel production, sustainability and lifecycle assessment, and aviation biofuel market development.
According to the US Department of Energy, sustainably produced biofuel could reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by 50 to 80% when compared with conventional petroleum fuel.
