Leading camelina-based fuel producer Sustainable Oils announces that it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) to provide 40,000 gal. of camelina-based jet fuel to the Naval Air Systems Command fuels team in 2009 as part of the Navy's certification testing program of alternative fuels. The contract includes an option to supply up to an additional 150,000 gal. of camelina-based jet fuel, the company says.

Sustainable Oils says camelina was selected because it does not compete with food crops, has been proven to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80%, and has already been successfully tested in a commercial airline test flight.

“Our camelina-based biojet fuel has already performed as well as its petroleum counterparts in aviation tests involving a Boeing 747-300,” says Scott Johnson, president of Sustainable Oils and the North American Camelina Trade Association.

The test is in reference to the Japan Airlines flight from January of this year — the first to use camelina-based jet fuel as a drop-in replacement for traditional Jet A, and supplied by Sustainable Oils. “We're expecting similar performance with different, and even more demanding aircraft,” he adds.