Emirates Completes Test Flight with Environment Friendlier Fuel
2023-01-31
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1International airline Emirates says it successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight with one engine running on a mixture of "sustainable" fuel.
2The test flight took place Monday and lasted about an hour.
3The Emirates plane took off from Dubai International Airport and then headed out into the Persian Gulf before returning to the airport.
4The Boeing 777 aircraft was powered by two General Electric engines.
5One engine ran on the sustainable mixture.
6The other was powered by traditional airplane fuel to ensure safety.
7Emirates' chief operating officer, Adel al-Redha, called the successful test flight "a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry."
8He said the step demonstrated the airline's desire to deal with one of the industry's biggest problems, carbon pollution releases related to air travel.
9Emirates is a state-owned airline operated by the United Arab Emirates (or UAE).
10The UAE is a collection of seven emirates also known individually as sheikdoms.
11The ruler of one of the emirates, Dubai, is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
12He described the sustainable fuel used for the flight as a mix "that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel."
13The mixture included fuel provided by Neste, a Finnish company, and U.S.-based fuel maker Virent.
14Virent says it uses plant-based sugars to make the compounds needed for sustainable jet fuel.
15Neste's fuel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats.
16Those fuels cut the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide burned off by engines in flight.
17Airline flights release only one-sixth the amount of carbon dioxide produced by cars and trucks, the Washington-based World Resources Institute reports.
18However, airplanes are used by far fewer people per day than road vehicles.
19This means flying has a higher per-capita release of carbon emissions.
20Airplane and engine manufacturers have been designing more environmentally-friendly versions in recent years.
21The general goal is to produce less-polluting engines to reduce fuel emissions in an effort to help limit the effects of climate change.
22But the measures have also helped cut operating costs related to fuel.
23Emirates, for example, used more than 5 metric tons of jet fuel last year alone.
24This amounted to about $3.7 billion of Emirates' $17 billion in yearly operating costs.
25Experts have noted that fuels considered sustainable can be three times or more the cost of traditional jet fuel.
26This added cost is likely to be passed onto flyers if sustainable fuels became more commonly used across the industry.
27It was not immediately clear how much the fuel used in the Emirates' test on Monday cost per barrel.
28The average jet fuel cost at the end of last week was $146 a barrel, energy company S&P Global Platts reported.
29The UAE is a major oil producer and exporter.
30It is set to host the next United Nations climate negotiations, known as COP28, beginning in November.
31The UAE has already been criticized by environmental activists for nominating the head of Abu Dhabi's state oil company to lead the U.N. negotiations.
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1International airline Emirates says it successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight with one engine running on a mixture of "sustainable" fuel. 2The test flight took place Monday and lasted about an hour. The Emirates plane took off from Dubai International Airport and then headed out into the Persian Gulf before returning to the airport. 3The Boeing 777 aircraft was powered by two General Electric engines. One engine ran on the sustainable mixture. The other was powered by traditional airplane fuel to ensure safety. 4Emirates' chief operating officer, Adel al-Redha, called the successful test flight "a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry." He said the step demonstrated the airline's desire to deal with one of the industry's biggest problems, carbon pollution releases related to air travel. 5Emirates is a state-owned airline operated by the United Arab Emirates (or UAE). The UAE is a collection of seven emirates also known individually as sheikdoms. 6The ruler of one of the emirates, Dubai, is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He described the sustainable fuel used for the flight as a mix "that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel." The mixture included fuel provided by Neste, a Finnish company, and U.S.-based fuel maker Virent. 7Sustainable jet fuel 8Virent says it uses plant-based sugars to make the compounds needed for sustainable jet fuel. Neste's fuel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Those fuels cut the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide burned off by engines in flight. 9Airline flights release only one-sixth the amount of carbon dioxide produced by cars and trucks, the Washington-based World Resources Institute reports. However, airplanes are used by far fewer people per day than road vehicles. This means flying has a higher per-capita release of carbon emissions. 10Airplane and engine manufacturers have been designing more environmentally-friendly versions in recent years. The general goal is to produce less-polluting engines to reduce fuel emissions in an effort to help limit the effects of climate change. 11But the measures have also helped cut operating costs related to fuel. Emirates, for example, used more than 5 metric tons of jet fuel last year alone. This amounted to about $3.7 billion of Emirates' $17 billion in yearly operating costs. 12Experts have noted that fuels considered sustainable can be three times or more the cost of traditional jet fuel. This added cost is likely to be passed onto flyers if sustainable fuels became more commonly used across the industry. 13It was not immediately clear how much the fuel used in the Emirates' test on Monday cost per barrel. The average jet fuel cost at the end of last week was $146 a barrel, energy company S&P Global Platts reported. 14The UAE is a major oil producer and exporter. It is set to host the next United Nations climate negotiations, known as COP28, beginning in November. The UAE has already been criticized by environmental activists for nominating the head of Abu Dhabi's state oil company to lead the U.N. negotiations. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 17_________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19sustainable - adj. able to continue over time 20milestone - n. an important event in the development or history of something 21positive - adj. something that has a good effect or result 22mirror - v. to be similar to or represent something 23per-capita - adj. per unit of population, meaning by or for each person 24emission - n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source 25_______________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.