Virgin Atlantic completes world’s first biofuel trans Atlantic flight
The global airline industry is one of the world's heaviest polluters, and new clean sources of fuel are vital in helping the industry become more sustainable.
Key takeaways
- In fact, as the firm took to Twitter to announce, the trip made aviation history.
- The flight from Orlando, Florida marked the first time ever a commercial craft was flown using biotech startup LanzaTech's much discussed sustainable fuel.
- Virgin Atlantic further called on the UK government to commit to making this eco-friendly fuel a commercial reality in the UK by supporting LanzaTech in establishing and running three UK plants by 2025.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2018) 'Virgin Atlantic completes world’s first biofuel trans Atlantic flight', 311 Institute, 7 October. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/virgin-atlantic-completes-worlds-first-biofuel-trans-atlantic-flight/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
First Alaskan Airlines flew an aircraft using nothing more than wood pellets, but now Virgin Atlantic has gone one, or possibly two better when they celebrated the landing of their trans-atlantic Boeing 747-400 G-VROM, nicknamed Barbarella, at Gatwick airport in the UK. Although it is not uncommon to see the airline's planes arrive at the airport, this particular journey gave much cause for celebration.
In fact, as the firm took to Twitter to announce, the trip made aviation history. The flight from Orlando, Florida marked the first time ever a commercial craft was flown using biotech startup LanzaTech's much discussed sustainable fuel.
The aviation firm referred to the event as a "landmark step towards making commercially viable sustainable aviation fuel a reality." And the ceremony saw none other than Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, whose green ambitions I was I discussed in the London Metro newspaper earlier this year, marshall the aircraft into its stand.
“Long haul travel is more important than ever for connecting people around the world. And it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re doing that in the most sustainable way possible," said Branson. "Working with LanzaTech will enable us to drastically reduce our carbon emissions and at the same time, help support UK industry. That’s why we’re so excited to showcase this fuel on its first commercial flight as we plan for the world’s first full scale jet fuel plant using this amazing new technology.”
Just last July, the UK Government granted LanzaTech a £410K grant to determine the feasibility of building a 40 to 50 million gallon jet fuel plant in Britain.
“This waste to jet fuel project has the potential to help transform the aviation industry by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the air quality around our country’s airports,” said, at the time, Chris Grayling, UK Transport Secretary.
LanzaTech produces its sustainable biofuels by recycling waste industrial gases such as those produced from heavy industrial processes. The company's process sees these carbon rich gases turned first to ethanol and then to a range of low carbon products, including jet fuel.
“Today, with our carbon smart partner, Virgin Atlantic, we have shown that recycling waste carbon emissions into jet fuel is not impossible, that waste carbon needs to be thought as an opportunity not a liability, that carbon can be reused over and over again," said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO at LanzaTech.
Virgin Atlantic further called on the UK government to commit to making this eco-friendly fuel a commercial reality in the UK by supporting LanzaTech in establishing and running three UK plants by 2025. This would allow the startup to produce up to 125 million gallons of sustainable fuel per year resulting in the saving of nearly 1 million tonnes of life-cycle carbon.
Source: Virgin Atlantic
What this means for your organisation
Cleaner fuel, same planes.
Sustainable fuel can work in existing aircraft. That cuts emissions without waiting for new designs. Airlines can act sooner.
Waste becomes a resource.
Turning industrial waste gases into fuel cleans up two problems at once. Heavy industry gains a new revenue stream. Partnerships between industry and aviation could grow.
Supply is the bottleneck.
A full scale plant is still being studied. Demand will outstrip supply as mandates rise. Airlines should lock in supply agreements early.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- How much of our fuel could come from sustainable sources?
- Could our industrial waste gases become fuel?
- Should we secure sustainable fuel supply contracts now?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
The global airline industry is one of the world's heaviest polluters, and new clean sources of fuel are vital in helping the industry become more sustainable.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- LanzaTech's lanzatech.com
- Lanzatech virgin atlantic secure uk government grant develop world first waste carbon jet fuel project uk lanzatech.com
- Virgin atlantic lanzatech celebrate revolutionary sustainable fuel project takes flight blog.virginatlantic.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 7 October 2018. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2018). Virgin Atlantic completes world’s first biofuel trans Atlantic flight. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/virgin-atlantic-completes-worlds-first-biofuel-trans-atlantic-flight/
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