The race for second-generation biofuels is on, with Honeywell announcing it has joined JetBlue Airways, International Aero Engines and Airbus in research to develop algae-based jet fuel.

Honeywell said they are testing and developing biofuels from crops that can be produced without competing with water or food resources. Crops such as algae.

Algae is proving very popular as a second-generation biofuel.
Virgin Atlantic, GE Aviation and Boeing are leading another group who are also researching algae-based fuels.

Virgin undertook the first biofuel test flight earlier this year. They flew a commercial airliner from London to Amsterdam on a mix of 80 percent regular jet fuel and 20 percent biofuel made from babassu oil and coconut oil.

Environmentalists criticised the flight, warning that using biofuels to power aircraft would lead to deforestation because of the demand it would create for agricultural land.

Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic, dismissed the criticism. He said the flight had proven biofuel to be technically feasible for air travel and that the group could now focus on developing biofuels based on algae, grown in a sustainable manner.