CFM is running engine tests of alternative fuels

As CFM aggressively pursues lower engine fuel burn, our researchers are charting new territory with the testing of biofuels. In 2007, CFM carried out a promising test of an ester-type biofuel on a CFM56-7B. The biofuel on this particular test was 30 percent vegetable oil methyl ester blended with 70 percent conventional Jet-A1 fuel. With this type of biofuel, the target is a net reduction of 20 percent in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared with current fuels.

CFM will continue running engine tests to develop solutions based on mixtures of jet fuel and second-generation biofuels. For alternative fuels to be used in the aviation industry, there are a number of major technology challenges that must be met. As a long-time pioneer of aircraft technologies, no one is better prepared than CFM to meet these challenges.