GE Aviation pursues alternative fuel sources for jet engine testing

GE Aviation, which consumes more than 10m gallons of jet fuel annually at its engine testing centers, will broaden its fuel source beginning in 2016. GE Aviation has signed an agreement to purchase cellulosic synthetic biofuel from The D’Arcinoff Group (DG), based in Washington, D.C., to be used for production and development testing of GE jet engines. The 10-year agreement calls for GE’s baseline commitment of 500,000 gallons annually of the low-emissions jet fuel to be used at the company’s main jet engine testing facility in Peebles, Ohio. Options are in place to order up to 10m gallons annually of the synthetic biofuel. Since 2007, GE Aviation has partnered with several government entities and airlines worldwide in demonstrating various alternative fuels in its engines – either through ground tests or full-fledged aircraft flight demonstrations. The demonstrations have involved several GE engine models from the F414 fighter jet for the Boeing F/A-18 to the GE CF6 commercial engine for such large airliners as the Boeing 767.