Known as atomic energy’s birthplace since World War II, Chicago may someday add development of commercial aviation biofuel to its résumé.
That’s the aim of United Airlines, Boeing Co. and other Chicago interests funding accelerated research into biofuel technologies with the best potential to reach commercial scale in a 12-state Midwest region.
The thinking is that the Midwest offers some inherent advantages to make aviation biofuel economical. With both a large supply of potential feedstocks, such as corn and soybeans, as well as high demand for aviation fuel at Chicago airports, the cost of transporting biofuel to market would be minimized.
