PLANS FOR AEROSPACE. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with officials of giant aerospace firm Airbus in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday (March 12, 2024). During the meeting, Marcos and Airbus president Anand Stanley discussed potential partnerships to strengthen the Philippines’ capabilities in the aerospace sector. (Photo from Presidential Communications Office)
MANILA – Negotiations between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and giant aerospace firm Airbus are underway for a potential collaboration on carbon removal initiative, Malacañang said Wednesday.
The ongoing talks were discussed during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s meeting with Airbus top executives in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has obtained a commitment from giant aerospace company Airbus to work with the Department of Transportation on the use of modern technologies for biofuels and the extraction of carbon energy from the country’s landfills for eventual use in the aviation sector,” Garafil said.
Anand Stanley, president of Airbus and head of region of Airbus Asia-Pacific, told Marcos that the process involves the extraction or collection of organic matter on any fatty oil matter from landfills to see if there is carbon which will then be bracketed to get some molecules out of it, just like with cooking oil.
Garafil said Airbus is part of the DOTr’s working group in charge of preparing a roadmap for sustainable aviation fuel use in the country.
Stanley said Airbus is currently in touch with the DOTr working group to identify possible sources of fuels with high-density populations.
“So, used cooking oil is an opportunity where if it can be collected in larger quantities because there’s a lot of competition, it can be recycled as treated biofuels,” Stanley said, as quoted by the PCO.
“The second area we’re trying to study with the Department of Transportation is landfills—waste landfills. It is large amount of trash. Other technologies that we can use is carbon energy from the landfills,” he added.
Stanley said the venture has started to become financially viable because of the high cost of carbon credit for aviation, noting that local airline companies Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific could sell the credit to German airline Lufthansa if they do not want to move it.
Carbon credits, also known as carbon offsets, are permits that allow the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
Stanley said Airbus has been focusing on three areas where it feels it can immediately consult with the DOTr on aviation fuel, trying to find a partner for human capital development, and forging a higher-level partnership with a Philippine and a European university.
“So agricultural wastes, sea algae, cooking oil, edible fats, or other kinds of agricultural seeds. All of these can be used to create sustainable aviation fuel and can be sold at a higher [quantity]. So we are working with the Department of Transportation working group to see if there is a roadmap that we can create,” he said.
Air traffic management
During the meeting with Marcos, Stanley said Airbus is also open to working with the Philippines to address the air traffic problems in the country.
“We are also always there to support another area we could [offer help], the traffic problem in the Philippines, in the airports. We can help in the studies on automated traffic management and, in some cases, unmanned traffic management to free up the air space,” he said.
Airbus, with approximately 134,000 employees, is a global pioneer in the aerospace industry, operating in commercial aircraft, helicopters, defense, and space.
Given its 50-year history of innovation and technological firsts, Airbus is a leader in designing, manufacturing, and delivering aerospace products and solutions worldwide.
Airbus holds a 100-percent market share of the narrowbody segment operated by Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and Air Asia Philippines, as well as a 70-percent market share of the widebody segment spread across Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. (PNA)
