Norwegian airport operator Avinor commits $1 million to biomass fuel

Avinor, the state-owned operator of Oslo Airport (OSL), Stavanger Airport (SVG) and other Norwegian airports, agreed to spend US$1 million on biomass fuel from Quantafuel, a manufacturer that converts plastics and now wood waste into jet fuel.  

“[The] end game and goal is to produce jet fuel from biomass,” Quantafuel Chief Executive Kjetil Bøhn told Air Cargo World. The biomass fuel, which isn’t ready for the market yet, will be produced at a pilot plant in eastern Norway beginning sometime next year, according to Bøhn. The goal is for the plant to produce at least 7-9 million liters of fuel annually.  

Avinor’s investment, along with a US$1.5 million grant from ENOVA – a Norwegian state enterprise aimed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions – will help support the plant. Quantafuel is also investing $1 million into the plant, Bøhn said.  

It’s too soon to evaluate production costs or set market prices; however, since the fuel will be made from sawdust and woodchips, Bøhn said that the company hopes prices will be low, and expects that the biomass fuel should have the “same properties” as “regular air fuel.”  

“Whatever mileage you get today on your jet fuel, you get on our biomass,” Bøhn explained, adding that Quantafuel’s plastic-derived fuel gets the same mileage as other fuels.