A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine, but airlines have also committed to climate neutrality by 2050. The solution lies in sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen and electric aircraft, which are already well under development.
Perhaps the economic sector most visibly affected by the coronavirus epidemic is the aviation industry. This is illustrated by the fact that, after two decades of rapidly rising carbon emissions, the pandemic last year sent the sector’s emissions down by about a third to 1997 levels, compared with the previous year. However, following this unprecedented collapse, the number of passengers and the volume of cargo carried is expected to rise steadily again in the coming decades. Without a number of new operational and technical solutions and changes in habits, the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions could skyrocket again, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns in its November assessment of the sector.
As in other areas, financial and regulatory measures to improve efficiency can contribute to making the aviation sector more climate-friendly in the short term. This is also true for the management of investment risks to support the expansion of sustainable fuel use. As low-carbon fuels and other technologies become more widespread, airlines will seek to offset emissions to some extent by promising offsetting measures, such as financing tree planting, wind farms or methane capture projects.
While these undoubtedly have social benefits, they do not actually reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from jet engines. Not to mention the consequences in terms of concentrations of other gases, which exacerbate global warming.
More interesting, and with greater potential for achieving long-term climate goals, is the development of alternative technologies such as sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen or electric aircraft. There is a need to exploit this potential, as emissions from this sector are responsible for around 3.5% of global warming. This may not seem like much, but it should not be an exception to the scope of emission reduction measures.
The case for green alternatives is underlined by the fact that it does not seem likely that environmental concerns or the anti-flight shame movement will cause everyone to switch from flying to the much lower carbon footprint train (see also: climate summit and private jets) when they can. In fact, like the climate-destroying fashion for SUVs, flying has become very popular in recent years for shorter distances, with the powerful help of airlines. The pressure to ban short-haul flights is growing in the EU. But as they account for only a few percent of total aviation emissions, the desired measure alone would not solve the problem.
Staying with the EU, the Community has also set ambitious greening targets for the aviation sector, which the inclusion of EU carbon emissions in the trading scheme could bring us closer to achieving. There seems to be a clear perception in the industry of the growing sustainability expectations of society and investors.
At this year’s International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference in October, for example, airlines representing its membership agreed to commit to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. This seems a significant commitment. If only because by 2050, 10 billion passenger journeys are expected to be made by air each year.
The industry association currently believes that the bulk of the emissions reduction challenge, around 65%, can be met by sustainable fuels such as alternative kerosene, which can be produced from wood and tobacco waste, sugar cane or used cooking oil and can be used in today’s engines without modification. Sustainable aviation biofuels (SAF or biojet), however, have similar concerns to biomass.
As the carbon in them is derived from biomass, their combustion releases carbon dioxide extracted by plants back into the atmosphere. This means that their sustainability depends first and foremost on the biomass used as feedstock coming from sustainable agriculture. If this can be achieved, it is possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions over the entire life cycle of the fuel by 80-90% compared to fossil kerosene.
According to the IEA’s scenario leading to climate neutrality in 2050, bio kerosene could account for approximately 15% of total aviation fuel consumption in 2030, compared to currently known international plans to achieve blending rates of 1-5% by 2025, which means that the transition clearly needs to be accelerated.
Another alternative to fossil fuels could be sustainable synthetic kerosene. If the process that requires electricity is based on clean, renewable electricity, using carbon dioxide extracted directly from the air as a feedstock, the resulting fuel will be virtually carbon neutral.
The first passenger flight powered by partially sustainable synthetic kerosene took off in February 2021, meaning that the technology, which is 3-6 times more expensive than conventional jet fuel, is still in the early stages of commercialisation. However, the technology is being developed globally, which foresees a reduction in costs in the future. In any case, the EU’s current target is for clean fuel to account for 28% of liquid fuel used in European aviation by 2050.
Like hydrogen-rich synthetic fuels, green hydrocarbons produced by water decomposition using solar or wind energy could also play a significant role in meeting future energy needs in aviation and transport. The industry association now estimates that hydrogen’s share of the aviation fuel market could be around 13% by mid-century. Europe’s largest aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, is also betting on hydrogen, having shifted its focus from smaller, electric aircraft to this technology.
Costs, lack of airport infrastructure and other barriers still stand in the way of the uptake of hydrogen-powered aircraft today. However, Airbus plans to have the first planes capable of carrying up to 200 passengers and travelling up to 3,500 kilometres in service around 2035. Others, such as the UK government, have similar plans.
Several other companies are also looking to hydrogen technology. Los Angeles start-up Universal Hydrogen, for example, is developing a fuel distribution network that delivers hydrogen to machines in modular capsules. And even more interestingly, it is designing conversion kits that can be retrofitted to aircraft. Another company, Ampaire, also based in Los Angeles, is developing hybrid electrical systems that can also be retrofitted to smaller aircraft. It is not the only such venture, with United Airlines already planning to mass-produce the new technology.
As for battery-electric planes, existing prototypes of these today can carry up to 20 passengers over 100 kilometres. Their range is not expected to exceed 1000 kilometres by mid-century. As this propulsion is likely to remain suitable only for shorter-haul air travel – which accounts for a small proportion of the sector’s emissions – its emission reduction potential appears limited, but the range of the various hybrids could reach 3000 km in the future.
Battery innovation breakthroughs will be needed to accelerate the uptake of the technology. This is even more true for aircraft than for electric cars. Lithium-air batteries, which can achieve the same energy density as aviation fuel, are still at a very early stage of development. A further challenge is that batteries, unlike fuel tanks, do not become lighter during flight.
The barriers to technology are illustrated by the fact that, for example, replacing the jet engine of a Boeing 747 would require more than 500 tonnes of the lithium-ion battery currently widely used. This would be such an extra load that even if it could be crammed into the jumbo, it would be impossible for the plane to take off. To lift this weight into the air, eight additional jets would be needed. At the same time, more and more manufacturers are designing and building electric aircraft that look even bizarre.
For example, the speed record holder Rolls-Royce and NASA. The world’s first all-electric airline is already preparing to enter the market. For now, they are all concentrating on the smaller size range because of technical limitations. There is also notable activity in the single and double-seater aircraft and air taxi categories. It is not excluded that they could play a significant role in the not too distant future in alleviating urban congestion and air pollution.
Recent article
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
The flying ambulance arrives at lightning speed
Drones News & Articles
Wing and Walmart Join Forces: Ushering a New Era of Drone Deliveries
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
The electric car revolution could continue in the air
Flying Cars News & Articles
What Economic Challenges and Opportunities Might Arise from a World Where Flying Cars Are Commonplace ?
News & Articles Points of interest
NASA’s new passenger craft will make ocean crossings shorter than the time it takes to watch a movie
Electric airplane News & Articles
Pyka’s Game-changing Pelican: Setting New Aerial Agricultural Standards
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Unmanned aerial taxis flew in a unique formation
Electric airplane News & Articles
NASA’s Innovations: Soaring into an Electrified Flight Future
Drones News & Articles
Redefining Drone Warfare: From Expendable Units to Affordable Mass
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Could eVTOLs and Air Taxis Replace Public Transport ?
Flying Cars News & Articles
The Dawn of Flying Cars: A Glimpse into the Future of Urban Mobility
Drones News & Articles
Harnessing Nature’s Flight: The Bird-Inspired Drone
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Navigating the Skies of Tomorrow: Electric Air Taxis Eye the Paris Olympics
Flying Cars News & Articles
Soaring Above: Alef Automotive’s Revolutionary Flying Car Earns FAA Approval
Points of interest
Navigating the Skies: Korea’s PIBOT Set to Outdo Human Pilots
Drones
The Vanguard of Autonomous Flight: XQ-58A Valkyrie
News & Articles Points of interest
China’s JF-22 Hypersonic Wind Tunnel: The Future of Hypersonic Innovation
Drones News & Articles
A New Flight Formation: German Pilots and Drone Swarms
Drones
A New Dawn for Drone Technology: The Hypersonic Revolution
Additional aircraft News & Articles
The Morphobot: An Innovation in Multimodal Robotics
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Blazing Trails in Hypersonic Aviation: Europe’s Destinus Soars to New Heights
News & Articles Points of interest
The Dawn of AI Air Travel: Airbus and its Vision for Autonomy
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Technological advances in air taxis and flying vehicles are needed to transform public transport
Air taxi News & Articles
Volocopter’s High-Flying Ambitions for the Olympics
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
The Horizon of Aviation: Airbus’ Vision for 2035 and Beyond
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
A Shift in Aviation Licensing and Training
Drones News & Articles
Russia’s Path to Drone Supremacy
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Spectacular Flight of Man-Made Saucers: Unveiling New Horizons of Sky-High Commute
Air taxi News & Articles
Israel’s Pioneering Venture into Drone Transport
Air taxi News & Articles
More efficient air taxis in the future
Air taxi News & Articles
The Coming Electric Air Taxi Revolution: Competing with Train Tickets ?
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Unveiling the Whisper of Innovation: CycloTech’s Exploration into CycloRotor Noise Levels
Points of interest
Sailing the Skies in Style: Airbus’s Novel Vision for Air Travel
Drones News & Articles
Boosting Agriculture: A Drone Revolution Awaits in Budapest
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Embracing the Future with Rolls-Royce’s Revolutionary UltraFan Engine
Air taxi News & Articles
Testing of perhaps the most promising air taxi begins
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Navigating the Future: Autonomous Helicopters Soar High
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Embracing the Future: Seoul’s Leap into Urban Air Mobility
Flying Cars
Toyota takes to the skies: we form an alliance
Drones News & Articles
Toyota Takes to the Skies: Investing in Revolutionary Drone Technology
More articles you may be interested in...
Drones
The Vanguard of Autonomous Flight: XQ-58A Valkyrie
News & Articles Points of interest
China’s JF-22 Hypersonic Wind Tunnel: The Future of Hypersonic Innovation
Drones News & Articles
A New Flight Formation: German Pilots and Drone Swarms
Drones
A New Dawn for Drone Technology: The Hypersonic Revolution
Air taxi News & Articles
The Coming Electric Air Taxi Revolution: Competing with Train Tickets ?
The Dutch company, Electron Aviation, is making a bold promise that is set to disrupt.......... READ MORE
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Unveiling the Whisper of Innovation: CycloTech’s Exploration into CycloRotor Noise Levels
In the fast-paced realm of aeronautical engineering, the introduction of CycloRotors has heralded a paradigm.......... READ MORE
Points of interest
Sailing the Skies in Style: Airbus’s Novel Vision for Air Travel
Navigating the dawn of a fresh chapter in aviation, Airbus recently shared its audacious plans.......... READ MORE
Drones News & Articles
Boosting Agriculture: A Drone Revolution Awaits in Budapest
The stage is set in Hungary, as it stands on the brink of an exciting.......... READ MORE
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Embracing the Future with Rolls-Royce’s Revolutionary UltraFan Engine
Just when you thought the apex of innovation had been reached, Rolls-Royce challenges the notion.......... READ MORE
Air taxi News & Articles
Testing of perhaps the most promising air taxi begins
For some of us, the very idea of an air taxi evokes scenes straight out.......... READ MORE
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Navigating the Future: Autonomous Helicopters Soar High
Unmanned helicopters are no longer a concept in some futuristic Sci-Fi novel. They're here, revolutionizing.......... READ MORE
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Embracing the Future: Seoul’s Leap into Urban Air Mobility
In an audacious move to revolutionize its transport system, Seoul - the bustling South Korean.......... READ MORE