The two partners will assess various feedstock to ensure compliance with ecological, economic and social sustainability criteria in the first phase of the partnership that will also involve collaboration with other European institutions.
The phase two of the program will zero in on the best possible alternative fuel.
Airbus new energies program manager Frédéric Eychenne said the partnership will look to determine the best possible ways to contribute to sustainability in the Chinese aviation sector.
"The commercialisation of alternative fuels is one of the essential ingredients in our quest to achieving ambitious environmental targets in aviation," said Eychenne.
Tsinghua University Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy director Zhang Xiliang added, "The project will help us improve the understanding of the nature of aviation Biofuels commercialisation in China, identify the opportunities and challenges, and evaluate the possibility of social, economic, market and technology change and its cost, obstacles and challenges."
The full sustainability analysis is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2013.
