PROFILE: Aviation aim
Clean Tech Aviation’s Ben Cappelle discusses building the biofuel blend and engine retrofit solutions for general and business aviation.
Reduce emissions
EU law requires commercial aviation to reduce its carbon emissions by 20% in 2020 or face fines. New aircraft and new engines take years of development, and the key element in reaching those targets therefore is developing cleaner fuels.
Three elements are important for the change to happen: the certification of the various aircraft engines are initially required to give the industry a choice in using these cleaner biofuel blends; secondly it has to be available at the various destinations where the aircrafts will start and land; and thirdly it has to be available at affordable prices, preferably lower, to lower operational costs for the users over time, and receive an interesting return of investment.
CTA is an R&D centre for innovative developments on the General Aviation (GA) and Business Aviation (BA) aircraft and engine market. CTA is active in designing and manufacturing retrofits for piston and turboprop engines, executing its ground and flight test retrofitted engines using biofuel blends for the aviation piston avgas and diesel engines as well as turboprop jet engines. CTA is also involved in developing the biofuel blends the Earth atmosphere so drastically needs while allowing the Aviation industry to support the population growth.
Small is fragmented
The lower end of the market – private owners, flight schools, and companies that fly business personnel on twin-engine propeller aircraft – is very fragmented and difficult to help. It’s a very diverse market but also represents large numbers. There are up to one million of those aircraft worldwide, and roughly 2,200 different types.
CTA decided to start at the base and seek use of the existing engine inventory and design, test and certify a retrofit package per type engine that will operate safe, cheaper and greener and produce the biofuel blends prototype as well. The use of either fossil fuels or biofuel blends should not limit the operator in the choice of airports, but can reduce its operating costs drastically and lower the CO2 emissions simultaneously.
Bioenergy
The extra power the blend alcohols fuels deliver proved ideally useful and bring additional safety during starts and climbs using slightly more fuel, but which is compensated for during cruise mode in which the biofuel power allows lower throttle settings to achieve the same speed/time formula. When tested with ethanol/methanol on piston aircraft engines, the results revealed significantly less wear to the engine than normally occurs with the use of avgas. The life of the overhaul (revision) can therefore lead to significant improvements in maintenance, which in turn benefits the owner, or operator.
R&D exchange to innovative cost saving measures
CTA’s biofuel retrofit engine innovation is also used in co-operation with its partners Hines Canada, Jetwind Brazil and Cyclone-Europe to develop an innovative GA and BA nine-seater aircraft. The aircraft will use an interesting cost saving propeller from Hines and light weight aircraft design. This innovation concept could represent a revolution in aviation by its cost reduction and carbon reduced footprint. A ceiling of 34,000 feet and speeds up to 345 knots while reducing fuel needs with 30-50%. Imagine what that could do to the users operating costs.
CTA welcomes additional private equity investors and crowd funding initiatives to help CTA and its aviation partners transition the General and Business Aviation industry to develop cheaper and cleaner engines and aircrafts, while being satisfied travelling safe and fast to their destinations.
Are you a GA or BA maintenance service station, a flight school or a business transport operator and would like to save your company and your clients’ significant operating costs? Then contact CTA and join the first MRO service and repair stations in 2015 that will be able to use our knowledge, R&D and certification to retrofit all of your client’s engines to biofuel blend operations and start saving costs.
Ben Cappelle
CEO
+31 (0)65 170 7843
