Virgin Atlantic to halve carbon footprint with low-carbon fuel

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it is developing a low-carbon aviation fuel that it hopes will halve the company's carbon footprint.

In partnership with LanzaTech, Branson and co will use waste energy from chimney stacks to create aviation fuel, starting with waste gases from 65 per cent of the world's steel mills.

Once captured, the gases will be fermented and chemically converted for use as jet fuel.

Clever

The ambitious project hopes to fly Virgin Atlantic planes between London and Shanghai and Delhi using the greener fuel within three years.

Founder of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, said, "This could turn aviation from a dirty industry to one of the cleanest.

"This is a major step towards radically reducing our carbon footprint (and ultimately all other airlines' carbon footprints) and a momentous day for Virgin Atlantic and the future of sustainable aviation."