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Fueling the future: How one Madison company’s new technology could revolutionize travel

Quoted: UW-Madison Environmental Science expert Andrea Hicks says the news is fantastic.
“It’s really, really exciting, actually,” Hicks said. “We need to reduce the environmental impact of aviation.”

Aviation, Hicks explains, puts a considerable amount of carbon dioxide into air every year. “Biofuels” like the ones being produced at Virent are one solution.

“What’s really exciting is these are ‘drop in replacement’ biofuels,” Hicks said. “What that means is you can use them just the same way you use traditional aviation fuels, but they’re made from plants. And that has a lower carbon footprint. So there’s less environmental impact. It’s really, potentially the future of sustainable aviation.”