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

Jet fuel made from canola

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canada has produced its first batch of low-carbon aviation fuel made from non-food grade canola and tallow. A boat travels past the Parkland Burnaby Refinery on Burrard Inlet at sunset in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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. says 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 says they began trying to develop the fuel since 2017 and the entire batch has already been bought by Air Canada.

Pugliese says the low-carbon fuel is more expensive than conventional jet fuels to produce and therefore requires a "long-term" plan from Canada to support sustained production.

He says countries such as the United States incentivize production and use of low-carbon fuel, and Canada needs to "do more" to create an economic ecosystem for the commodity.

Commercial aviation giant Airbus has said that low-carbon jet fuel can reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by about 80 per cent, but the ecosystem for the fuel is still "in its infancy" with just 600 million litres produced last year, making up 0.2 per cent of all aviation fuel for 2023.