Parkland produces first batch of low carbon jet fuel made in Canada

The first commercial batch of made-in-Canada low-carbon aviation fuel sourced from non-food grade canola and tallow has been produced and quickly purchased. Fuel retailer Parkland Corp. said Tuesday it has successfully produced about 100,000 litres of the fuel at its refinery in Burnaby, B.C. "using existing infrastructure." Parkland senior vice-president Ferio Pugliese said it means production can easily be scaled up, but only if Canada provides the necessary conditions to create an ecosystem around the nascent commodity and its adoption across the country. "We need to do more to make low-carbon air travel a reality," Pugliese said during the announcement in Vancouver on Tuesday. "We need a long-term Canadian solution for low-carbon, sustainable aviation fuel." While the potential for emission reduction is massive production in Canada is also significantly more expensive, Pugliese said. He notes that similar low-carbon fuels used in vehicles, buses and ferries have about one-eighth of the carbon content when compared to traditional fuels. Pugliese said other countries such as the United States incentivize production and use of low-carbon jet fuel, creating the necessary ecosystem to support a local industry. "Currently, the Canadian aviation industry purchases low-carbon aviation (fuel) from other countries and imports it from across the globe into Canada. That makes little sense."<br/>