Wed 11 Apr 2018 – Canada’s Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), a non-profit organisation that brings together government, academia and the aerospace industry to develop technologies and processes to lessen the sector’s environmental impact, has joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). GARDN is a part of the Canadian government’s ‘Business-Led Networks of Centers of Excellence’ programme and has a number of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects in place. It says membership of RSB, with its best-in-class sustainability standard, is “an ideal fit” in tackling the challenges of developing biofuel supply chains.

“There’s no doubt today that the use of biofuels is essential to achieve the environmental goals of the aviation sector,” said GARDN’s Executive Director, Sylvain Cofsky. “Nonetheless, we need to ensure that the biofuels suggested are thoroughly compliant with the sustainable development framework. This is the main stake of the collaboration with RSB.”

RSB said its framework fosters collaboration across a broad range of stakeholders and can provide the networks, guidance and platform to help support GARDN.

Added Rolf Hogan, Executive Director of RSB: “We believe the RSB will benefit greatly from GARDN’s experience in leading collaborative industrial R&D projects which include all parts of the sustainable aviation fuel value chain.”

One GARDN project is assessing the potential of producing SAF from Canada’s considerable forest residue resources with partners that include Boeing, Bombardier, WestJet and SkyNRG. Another, ‘Canada’s Biojet Supply Chain Initiative’, aims to catalyse the development of a domestic HEFA-derived biojet sector and demonstrate the operational feasibility of co-mingling SAF in the domestic jet fuel supply system at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. Partners include Waterfall Group, Boeing, Air Canada, SkyNRG, CAAFI, IATA, government agencies and academia.

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