Energy company Jatenergy Limited (ASX:JAT) is supplying high quality crude jatropha oil to Lufthansa for use in the world’s first, long-term trial of renewable jet fuel on the German airline’s regular scheduled flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Jatenergy had sold 200 tonnes of crude jatropha oil at US$1000 per tonne from its joint venture operations with PT Waterland International. The oil has been refined into biojet fuel for Lufthansa by the specialist energy company, Neste Oil.

CEO of Jatenergy, Phil Hodgson, said there was strong demand from airlines for biojet fuel, especially since the recent approval by the standards group ASTM International for the blending of up to 50 per cent of biofuel with conventional jet fuel.

“We can’t produce enough jatropha oil at the moment to meet demand. Apart from sales to airlines such as Lufthansa, there is also interest from power generators and traditional biodiesel producers at prices linked to vegetable oils such as Palm oil.

Palm oil has priced between US$1000-US$1250 per tonne during 2011, which is around US$140-US$180 per barrel. Our average ex-works production costs for the oil are around US$460 per tonne, or US$65 per barrel.”

Lufthansa announced in mid-July that it had commenced commercial flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt, starting a long-term test to gauge the CO2 emission reductions from the use of biojet.

The German flights burn biofuel derived from three sources - jatropha, an oil producing plant called camelina and animal fats, all of which originate from sustainable supplies and production processes.