Airline in Japan Testing Fuel Alternative Using Rabbit Poop

by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:05 AM ET, Mon June 24, 2019

An airline in Japan has announced plans to use rabbit poop to help produce cleaner fuel to power its fleet of planes.

According to The Sun, officials from All Nippon Airways (ANA) have partnered with LanzaTech to create a new fuel source that would use recycled emissions which can be converted into ethanol using enzymes found in rabbit poop.

The ethanol would be converted into aviation fuel for commercial flights, with ANA planning a test run on a delivery flight this autumn. The airline hopes to introduce the greener fuel choice by 2021.

"Adopting this advanced fuel will allow us to reduce CO2 emissions and meet the ambitious sustainable development goals that we have set for the airline," ANA executive vice president Akihiko Miura said in a statement.

ANA and other airlines around the world continue to look for ways to be more sustainable amid a growing backlash about CO2 emissions. The International Air Transport Association said only two percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions in 2017 were attributable to air travel, but many experts believe the actual number is higher.

As a result, airplane manufacturers around the world are working on all-electric planes powered by hydrogen fuel.

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