As part of the project, a Lufthansa Airbus A321 operated four daily round flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt, for a period of 6 months, with one engine fuelled with a 50% blend of conventional jet fuel and HEFA synthetic fuel.
A batch of biofuel was produced for the project by Neste Oil in its refinery of Porvoo in Finland. The fuel was stored in Hamburg where aircraft fuelling was operated.
Regular analysis of the fuel was performed to detect eventual unmixing of the blend, due to difference in density between HEFA and kerosene, or microbiological contamination.
Regular evaluation of recorded engines’ parameter was performed. At the end of the testing period, a detailed technical analysis was achieved, including engine inspection with boroscoping and teardown analysis of key parts like fuels pumps.
Twelve universities and industry partners were associated to the project under Lufthansa leadership. The project was partly funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology.
