As the 28th United Nations climate summit (COP28) convenes in Dubai, sustainability and climate issues are the theme of the week, making it timely to look at the future of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Virgin Atlantic Airlines, a long-time pioneer in renewable fuels, just made a demonstration flight from London to New York on 28 November using sustainable aviation fuel. There were no paying passengers, just company officials and guests. Virgin Atlantic has also flown planes powered by biodiesel in past years. The most recent flight was powered by a Rolls Royce engine built to use SAF, the feedstocks for which were used cooking oil, fats and grease, and synthetic kerosene made with corn. The situation: The use of vehicle tran...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.