The new initiative, coordinated through the Mexican Bioenergy Innovation Center, will support Mexico’s aviation sector as well as its environmental and socio-economic goals. Executives at Boeing, Aeromexico, ASA and the Potosinian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT) formalized the initiative at a ceremony in Mexico City.

Through the agreement, IPICYT will lead a broader aviation biofuel development effort involving 17 institutions including Aeromexico and Boeing; nine CONACYT research centers; Mexican companies Pemex, QENER and Tratamientos Reciclados del Sureste; the Mexican Petroleum Institute; Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in United Arab Emirates; and the US Joint BioEnergy Institute.

The Mexican government and participating institutions will fund the effort for four years, aiming to develop a self-sustaining business model. Research will be conducted on biomass sourcing, fuel production, sustainability and lifecycle assessment, and aviation biofuel market development.

Aviation biofuel feedstocks in Mexico are expected to include jatropha, salt-tolerant Salicornia and sewage sludge. The initiative’s projects are expected to meet sustainability criteria established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

Using sustainably produced biofuel reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by 50 to 80 percent compared to conventional petroleum fuel, according to the US Department of Energy.

As part of Boeing’s commitment to protect the environment and support long-term sustainable growth for commercial aviation, the company has active biofuel projects on six continents, including in the US, Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Middle East, South Africa and Southeast Asia.