SAA launches Project Solaris

Marble Hall - South African Airways (SAA) along with partners Boeing, SunChem and SkyNRG launched its massive biofuels project, named after the tobacco plant used, Project Solaris in Marble Hall, Limpopo.

The venture sees the first crops for harvest already cultivated in the area with plans to expand successes nationally.

The development of locally produced biofuels not only answers the airline’s pursuit to seek more environmentally friendly energy solutions but in addition supports SAA’s dual socio-commercial mandate both in terms of future commercial savings and social development.
 
The launch crop comprises fifty hectares of the nicotine-free Solaris tobacco plant with its first harvest planned for later in December. Seed oils are processed into jet fuel.
 
Social benefits include the potential for small scale agricultural entrepreneurs to ultimately slot into a larger supply chain.
 
SAA plans to fuel a test flight using product from Project Solaris next year.

Globally more than 1 600 passenger flights using biofuel have taken off and landed since approval in 2011.