European Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, who has responsibility for the European Green Deal and Climate Action, said aviation presented a particular challenge due a huge increase in carbon emissions over the past decade, which needed to be tackled.

“Now with the pandemic, aviation has been particularly hard hit and a lot of public money has been put into keeping the sector alive,” he told the conference. “I think that was a good choice because the sector is going to be crucial in our recovery and the future structure of our economy – but it has to be a sector with a heavily reduced carbon footprint.

“We will need to look at what will be fuelling future aircraft and that is of extreme importance. I know the industry is on board with this and most of our own [EU] governments are too. With the election of Joe Biden in the US, the international environment is also quickly changing and there is no doubt in my mind they will be looking for a rapid reduction in carbon emissions as well. The traditional argument that we cannot touch aviation because it is an international sector becomes moot if we all start moving in the same direction.”

He called for European investment support of new technologies that would enable lower-cost production of sustainable fuels, including synthetic kerosene and clean hydrogen.

“What instruments do we have to influence this?” he said. “From my perspective, the EU ETS is the best system. It puts a price on carbon and allows us to generate revenue that can be used to be invested to create sustainable transport. Talking to my counterparts in America and China, forms of ETS are going to be cornerstones of their approach to decarbonising their economies as well. At the moment, it’s a piecemeal approach but if we do it at scale then we create a level playing field and then the risk of putting the European airline industry at a disadvantage diminishes.

“As well as carbon pricing and RefuelEU Aviation, we will have to look at how we integrate other transport systems into a sustainable solution. It is important to have a fundamental conversation about the future of this industry. It is not just about changing the energy used for air transportation but it’s also about the future role of the sector. Funding the recovery by putting the burden on our children and grandchildren will only work if we can show a better and more sustainable economy. There shouldn’t though be an antagonism between reaching climate neutrality and having a vibrant airline industry that responds to the transportation needs of our citizens and economy.”

The unprecedented Covid crisis had brought European air traffic back to 1995 levels, said Vălean, who expects recovery to fully return after five years and reach 14.4 million flights per year by 2035.

“However, it doesn’t make sense to go from catastrophic losses to an increased environmental impact. Along with an increase in flights, we have to see a decrease in emissions. It is not an easy task but neither is it an impossible one because we now have the technologies, we have a plan and for the first time, we have the commitment of the entire aviation industry to change. Ten years ago, even five years ago, it would have been impossible to sit all the actors at the same table and to see them sharing the same goals and vision as we are seeing today.”

She said sustainable fuels had a major role to play but the estimated share of SAF in the EU today was only around 0.05% of total jet fuel consumption.

“We need to scale up production capacity and make them widely available on the market,” she said. “This will require both cooperation and a sustainable policy framework, and, of course, an acceptable business case. In terms of cooperation, we plan to involve every interested party – airlines, producers, researchers, airports, public authorities, civil society and others – to establish a renewable and low-carbon value alliance. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We need to know with precision, which are our weakest links and create the right conditions to strengthen the entire chain.”

Vălean said a consequence of the RefuelEU Aviation initiative would be to attract major investment in European SAF production capacity that would lead to increasing uptake.

“We will also make sure our proposal maintains and guarantees a strong level playing field for industry in the EU,” she added. “The transition to sustainable fuels must be driven and endorsed collectively by the aviation industry community, and costs for clean fuels must be shared as fairly as possible.

“As aviation is global by nature, we will accelerate a discussion in global forums like ICAO and we must continue to convince our third country aviation partners that sustainable alternative fuels are the right choice to ensure that the growing aviation sector has a sustainable future.”

Andreas Scheuer, Germany’s transport minister, agreed measures needed to be coordinated at an international level and that the current crisis offered chances for the sustainable development of aviation. As air transport would continue to rely on liquid fuels for the foreseeable future, the use of SAF was key to contributing to environmental and climate protection in aviation, he said.

“From the different types of sustainable fuels, Germany is especially focusing on synthetic e-fuels produced from renewable electricity, CO2 and water, known as power-to-liquid (PtL) kerosene,” he said. “In our view, PtL has the highest potential to contribute the sustainable development of aviation and our climate goals.”

Despite the promise of PtL fuels, he conceded, there was no business case as yet due to high production costs, a lack of supply and demand, and current limitations of renewable electricity supplies. To support market development, he said Germany had set up a funding regime that would provide €1.5 billion ($1.8bn) over the next four years, with a special allocation for aviation PtL fuels. This would be complemented, subject to the recovery of the aviation sector from the crisis, by a national blending quota of 0.5% PtL starting from 2026, increasing up to 2% by 2030, based on sales of jet kerosene in Germany.

“However, market distortion has to be considered and addressed. We therefore advocate for a common European and international approach regarding regulatory measures and quotas,” he said. “In this context, we support RefuelEU Aviation to boost the supply and demand for SAF and PtL. This regulation, in our view, should include a separate requirement for PtL kerosene.”

He reported the government and industry stakeholders were currently developing a PtL roadmap for aviation, which would be published shortly in German and English.

French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a keynote address that while synthetic fuels were currently expensive, the economics would improve through innovation and scalability. Sustainable aviation fuels are already available and would increase in the coming years, while hydrogen was expected in 2035, he added.

“We must develop all these technologies and keep in mind the timeframe is different for each of them,” he said. “We need to integrate all certified and available SAF pathways despite their current levels of production maturities. The use of SAF should be an obligation to airlines and increase with progressive phasing and harmonised at the EU level.”

To send a signal to the market, he suggested a European mandatory target of 5% SAF by 2030, with obligations that feedstocks are produced in the EU and came with high standards of sustainability. “We should avoid relying on imports of feedstocks from outside the EU. It’s a matter of improving our energy independence and also the externalities associated with the transport of non-local feedstock.

“In France, we have just published a national roadmap that sets a target of 1% incorporation by 2022, based on an incentive through a tax exemption on jet supplies. We are supporting innovative projects and launched a call for expressions of interest last year. Today, there are around 15 projects, bringing together aircraft companies, airlines, industrials and waste management specialists. The projects are at different stages, some in a pilot phase, some need further studies, but things are going well at the moment and we can see a very good momentum in France.”

Sweden’s Minister of Infrastructure, Tomas Eneroth, said blending mandates should be coordinated as a joint EU initiative but that it was up to individual Member States to decide the measures to use in order to reach a minimum share. It was also important that any EU legislation proposal should support ambitious States that were already moving ahead with SAF initiatives. Sweden, he said, was intending this summer to introduce an obligation based on GHG emission reductions.

“The purpose of opting for a reduction obligation is that compared with a blending obligation, it favours fuels with lower lifecycle emissions,” he said, adding that Sweden would welcome a revision of the EU energy taxation directive to allow for Member States to tax fossil jet fuel used in international aviation.

“In the short term, we are open to bilateral agreements on taxation. I also hope that there will be a broader discussion at ICAO on international regulation. It is of the utmost importance we continue discussions on work on sustainable aviation at the European level. It is time for the EU to take the next step and we are fully committed to making aviation more sustainable, resilient and future-proof.”

Timo Harakka, Minister of Transport for Finland, said the EU had to drive ambitious climate goals at a global level. “The next ICAO Assembly in 2022 will show whether the aviation community is ready for concrete measures. It will no doubt be challenging to agree on a common goal and necessary measures. However, there is no time to postpone the inevitable. Whether the measures are national, EU-wide or global, sustainable aviation fuels are at the very centre of them.

“I’m certain e-fuels will play a major role in decarbonising aviation. We’re not there yet but there are some promising initiatives in Europe, including in Finland. It is very important that as we move to maximum usage of e-fuels in the future, we also maximise the use of the current available measures. With swift and ambitious action, the aviation sector could make a real difference in achieving EU 2030 climate goals and we can drive the change in the global area.”

Latvia’s Minister for Transport, Tālis Linkaits, said there were numerous challenges ahead, including the SAF price gap, and especially for small and distant Member States like Latvia. He also advocated that airlines should not be burdened with SAF quota demands.

“Nevertheless, I would like to express support for the pioneering efforts in this field and with mutual cooperation, we can help each other to initiate the ramp up,” he said.

Eight EU States – France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – issued a joint statement during the conference:

“We therefore support the aim of the European Commission to boost the supply and demand for SAF in the EU so as to create favourable conditions in order to ramp up the production and deployment of SAF, based on robust sustainability criteria. The potential of synthetic aviation fuels, in addition to advanced sustainable biofuels, is clear. The challenge is to make use of the current momentum by providing for a clear long-term perspective so as to contribute to a scalable SAF marketplace. A European blending mandate can achieve this.

“So we call upon the European Commission to further stimulate and incentivise the uptake of SAF, including synthetic fuels, through funding programmes under the existing financial framework and we welcome the RefuelEU Aviation initiative as a starting point for further EU coordination so as to ensure an integral and effective long-term agenda on sustainable aviation.”

The 500 litres of synthetic kerosene showcased during the conference was produced by Shell at its research centre in Amsterdam from CO2, water and renewable energy from local sun and wind sources. It was used on a KLM flight between Amsterdam and Madrid.

“This promising innovation will be of great importance in the coming decades to reduce CO2 emissions from aviation,” commented Cora van Nieuwenhuizen. “It is great that in the Netherlands, we were the first to show that this is possible – a big compliment for all involved. I hope that in these turbulent times for aviation, this will inspire people in the sector to continue on this course.”

Photo: Fuelling the first ever commercial flight to use synthetic kerosene (credit: KLM)

Europe’s major aviation countries experienced declines in CO2 emissions from departing flights around the European average: France -55%, Germany -53% and the United Kingdom -60%. Tourism-reliant countries recorded steeper declines, for example Greece -64%, Italy -65% and Spain -64%. The reduction in emissions from flights from the Netherlands was just 41%. (See table below.)

A major reason for the decline in emissions of just 30% from Belgian flights was due to the high proportion of cargo flights, which increased from 11% to 25% in 2020 compared to 2019, reported a Eurocontrol ‘data snapshot’. Cargo flights use larger aircraft and fly further than the Belgian average, it said, and therefore generate above-average CO2 emissions. A second reason was that due to short-haul cancellations, the average scheduled flight was much longer than in 2019, so emitted more CO2.

Brussels Airport said its cargo operations had experienced greater demand than ever in 2020, experiencing a 2.2% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes. The strongest growth was in the full-freighter segment, which was up 43% on 2019, and express services saw a year-on-year increase of 18%. This year, the number of vaccine shipments from Brussels Airport is already rising.

“The year 2020 truly was a very unusual and difficult year for the aviation industry. Fortunately, our cargo department has been in great demand throughout the crisis, particularly for the transport of pharmaceuticals and perishables, and for e-commerce,” said the airport’s Chief Executive, Arnaud Feist. “The major role Brussels Airport played since the end of November in the transport of Covid-19 vaccines will undoubtedly continue throughout 2021.”

However, airlines are having to dramatically reduce their capacity with the stricter travel restrictions now being applied across Europe, said Eurocontrol.

“It is clear that the months of February and March will be exceptionally low across the network, except for cargo, some business traffic and skeleton schedule services,” predicted Eamonn Brennan, Director General of Eurocontrol. “Even April is expected to perform very poorly, with only a limited pick-up for the Easter period. Flights in Europe will probably only be around 25-30% of normal. It is a complete disaster for European aviation – an industry that’s already on its knees.”

At a global level, new forecasts from airports association ACI World indicate a slow, uneven and uncertain recovery in 2021. By the end of 2020, the global airport industry had experienced a reduction of more than 6 billion passengers, representing a decline of 64.2% on the previous year, according to ACI’s latest Covid-19 impact analysis. Its World Airport Traffic Forecasts report shows that over the next five years, passenger traffic worldwide is expected to grow at an annualised rate of +2.4%. While markets with significant domestic traffic are not expected to recover to pre-Covid levels before 2023, markets with a significant share of international traffic will recover much more slowly, expects ACI.

The report shows the Asia-Pacific and Latin America-Caribbean regions are predicted to experience the fastest growth, achieving five-year growth rates of +3.5% and +3.1%, respectively. Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America will see a more modest expansion, with growth ranging from +1.2% to +1.9%, it says.

China is expected to become the largest passenger market in 2031, surpassing the US, and is projected to continue to dominate passenger rankings in 2040 with just over 3.6 billion passengers, an 18.3% share of the global passenger traffic market. The US and India follow, with 2.9 and 1.3 billion passengers, respectively. Together, the three countries will handle almost 40% of global passenger traffic.

The decline of CO2 emissions from European flights in 2020 compared with 2019:

Top photo: Vaccines being loaded at Brussels Airport

“With the increasing demand for SAF in the future, there is a need to diversify SAF technologies and feedstock,” commented Maarten van Dijk, SkyNRG’s Managing Director. “This first-of-a-kind AtJ production in Europe will be an important step in the direction of making SAF more accessible and scalable, supporting net zero ambitions for the aviation industry.”

SkyNRG will act as the project’s coordinator and manage downstream supply chain development, with LanzaTech responsible for plant design, construction and operations. The waste-based ethanol will be sourced from multiple European producers, says the consortium.

“Bending the carbon curve requires collaboration and strong partnerships, something the FLITE consortium exemplifies, and we look forward to implementing LanzaJet technology in Europe,” said LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren. “This is an important enabler to expanding production of SAF and creating a path to a lower carbon future. We are grateful for the Horizon 2020 funding, which has made this project possible.”

Fraunhofer will oversee and distribute communications about the project and E4Tech will conduct the lifecycle assessment, while the RSB will provide guidance on sustainability certification of the facility.

“This project addresses two key challenges faced by the aviation sector today: rapid decarbonisation and doing so in a sustainable manner,” said RSB Executive Director Rolf Hogan. “It aims to scale the production of SAF in Europe and ensure it meets the most stringent sustainability standards. The RSB is proud to support partners to demonstrate sustainability performance and meet regional and global regulatory requirements of the EU Renewable Energy Directive and ICAO’s CORSIA.”

The consortium says it expects to name the location of the facility shortly and reports a number of airlines having shown interest in purchasing the SAF.

SkyNRG is already leading a project to build Europe’s first commercial SAF plant, named DSL-01, in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. It was due to be commissioned in 2022, although this is now unlikely in the light of present circumstances and the timeline is being reviewed and updated, says SkyNRG. When completed, the plant is set to produce 100,000 tonnes of SAF annually from waste and residue streams such as used cooking oil. The project is being supported by Shell, which has an option to purchase SAF from the facility, with KLM committed to purchasing 75,000 tonnes annually for 10 years.

Photo: SkyNRG

The current directive does not ensure that fuels used in Europe meet the sustainability standards desired by civil society nor of leading airlines, believes Pete Harrison, EU Policy Director of the European Climate Foundation, which, along with ClimateWorks Foundation, convened the initiative.

“Europe must ensure that future policies only promote the most sustainable fuels for reducing the climate impact of aviation, and the EU needs to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past,” he said. “Those in the Fuelling Flight Initiative have now reached agreement on this important topic and we propose shared guidelines on how to minimise environmental impacts. Policymakers should take this into consideration when defining a policy framework that is fair, affordable and meets the highest sustainability standards without compromise.”

He was backed by KLM CEO Pieter Elbers, who said: “With our contribution to the Fuelling Flight Initiative, we support EU policymakers in defining the right framework that meets the highest sustainability standards. At the same time, we advocate affordable pricing of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in combination with requirements that are equal for all parties. With that, the road is paved for a faster uplift of SAF, helping us to decrease our impact on the planet and accelerate our ambitions towards sustainable aviation.”

Among the recommendations put forward in a consensus statement published by the initiative are to:

• prioritise e-fuels and fuels made from wastes and residues;
• exclude biofuels produced from dedicated cropland;
• execute case-by-case assessments of local environmental impacts; and to
• support multiple technology pathways.

The statement notes that despite two phases of EU policy support through RED and the Fuel Quality Directive, European investment in advanced biofuels production had so far been subdued and EU biofuel use had been dominated by fuels with high sustainability risks. Future policy support should only go to fuels with high carbon reductions compared to fossil fuels, which would provide a solid foundation for securing future investment in SAF development as well as contributing to broader UN Sustainable Development Goals, it says.

The initiative’s participants call for SAF policy to be informed by bottom-up assessment of feedstock availability in conjunction with a review of existing demands across different transport modes and cautions against high SAF mandates in the near term that could drive unsustainable behaviour, such as high-intensity extraction of residues with existing uses or the diversion of land to meet SAF demand.

“Any potential SAF deployment targets must balance the availability of sustainable feedstocks with the necessary ambition and complementary policy support to drive investment in more challenging advanced fuel pathways,” they recommend.

Over the next few years, waste oils may deliver small volumes of low-carbon SAF but, says the statement, the EU must invest in fuels made from more abundant resources such as agricultural residues, municipal bio-waste and electrofuels (e-fuels). It emphasises the importance of selecting which wastes and residues are sustainably available for SAF production.

“The precise guidelines for sustainable availability will by necessity vary by location and on a feedstock-by-feedstock basis,” it adds. “For example, the guidelines for agricultural residues will be different than those for forestry wastes and municipal solid waste (MSW).”

The participants agree the theoretical availability of fuels of non-biological origin greatly exceeds the potential of fuels made from wastes and residues. These include fuels generated from industrial waste gases, although they say it is important these fuels do not provide a continued business case for fossil fuel use and full lifecycle assessments must be undertaken to ensure the fuel generates real GHG reductions relative to the fossil baseline, including indirect effects.

E-fuels made from captured carbon in conjunction with renewable electricity or concentrated sunlight is expected to be another important source of non-bio SAF in the long term. Again, stresses the statement, policymakers must ensure both the renewable electricity used to produce them and the carbon captured for fuel production are not incentivised by power sector policies or otherwise double-counted towards those policies.

“Therefore, it is critical to ensure that these fuels are produced from additional renewable electricity and their CO2 use, if not captured from the atmosphere, does not provide a continued business case for fossil fuel use.”

The statement envisions a three-phased approach to SAF deployment based on technology readiness and feedstock availability. In the first phase through 2025, waste oils are the likeliest source of low-carbon fuel due to their low carbon intensity and ease of conversion. However, there is competition for such fuels and policymakers may choose not to incentivise their diversion from the road sector towards the aviation sector. Even with diversion, the penetration of waste oils in aviation will be limited but their use would constitute a meaningful first step, argues the statement.

Scaling up SAF deployment in the 2025-2035 timeframe will require utilising more technically challenging feedstocks through the commercialisation of emerging technologies. More abundant sources of sustainable feedstock are expected to come from lignocellulosic residues and wastes such as MSW and agricultural and forestry residues.

To meet long-term decarbonisation targets and deeper deployment rates, the participants say it will require the use of fuels with greater availability than bio-based wastes and residues, with e-fuels offering substantial long-term potential for supplying SAF, as there are fewer constraints to their production volumes. However, acknowledges the statement, the high cost of supplying additional renewable electricity makes this one of the most expensive options for reducing aviation emissions. Despite the initial high costs, policy support for e-fuels over the next decade could help bring down the capital costs for electrolysers and introduce the policy framework that would link transportation energy demand to new, additional renewable electricity from the power sector.

Concluding, the statement recommends the European Commission proposes higher sustainability standards than those currently laid out in the RED, including clear exclusions of unsustainable feedstocks and pathways, such as biofuels from dedicated croplands and palm oil production by-products (PFAD). The revised framework should also incentivise levels of SAF and/or feedstock use that could be met only from domestic EU supplies.

“To meet aviation’s climate targets, it is essential to start scaling SAF production capacity rapidly, in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders including governments and NGOs,” commented Maarten van Dijk, Managing Director of sustainable aviation fuel supplier SkyNRG. “Long-term, stable policy frameworks are key to enable scale-up, and a clear exclusion of unsustainable feedstocks and pathways is, in our opinion, an important part of future policy.”

Added Andrew Murphy, Aviation Director at Transport & Environment: “The aviation fuels policy Europe launches this year will be crucial in determining whether the air travel sector is finally put on a path to sustainability. Europe needs to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past by ending support for crop-based biofuels and instead support new fuels, in particular e-fuels derived from additional renewable electricity. This statement is an important recognition by a wide range of actors of this need.”

The 10 participants in the initiative are Air France, Bauhaus Luftfahrt, Deutsche Post DHL Group, easyJet, International Airlines Group, KLM, Natuur & Milieu, T&E, Réseau Action Climat, Schiphol Group, SkyNRG and WWF. Technical advice was provided by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

The European Commission launched a public consultation in November on a revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, which closes on February 9.

Photo: KLM

ZeroAvia’s September flight of a six-seat Piper Malibu M350 utilised a smaller version of the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain it developed for the first HyFlyer project, which was also supported with a grant from the government-industry ATI programme. HyFlyer II is aimed at bringing to market the first hydrogen-electric powertrain suitable for commercial aircraft by 2023. Typically, up to 19-seat aircraft, such as the Cessna 208 Caravan and the Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter, are used in regional aviation and cargo transport worldwide. ZeroAvia says it 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain is platform-agnostic and will have lower operating costs and less air pollution than its jet-fuelled competition.

It is planning to perform initial test flights in 2021 and culminate in a 350-mile demonstration flight. By 2027, it expects to have powerplants in service capable of powering commercial flights of over 500 miles in aircraft with up to 100 seats and by 2030 more than 1,000 miles in aircraft with over 100 seats.

For the HyFlyer II project, ZeroAvia is working again with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) to deliver the green hydrogen fuelling systems required to power the aircraft for flight tests, including through mobile fuelling platforms suited to airport environments. For the first time, it is partnering with Aeristech to utilise the company’s advanced air compressor system as part of the 19-seat powertrain.

The $21.4 million Series A funding was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Ecosystem Integrity Fund, with follow-on investors Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Horizons Ventures, Shell Ventures and Summa Equity. Total funding since inception stands at $49.7 million.

“We see tremendous potential for hydrogen to decarbonise transportation, a core focus of our investment strategy,” said Devin Whatley, Managing Partner at the Ecosystem Integrity Fund. “With aviation being such a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, and also one of the trickiest areas to decarbonise, we believe ZeroAvia offers the only near-term solution to sustainable aviation and has already made significant progress toward achieving this goal.” 

Added Kara Hurst, Amazon’s VP Worldwide Sustainability: “Amazon created The Climate Pledge Fund to support the development of technologies and services that will enable Amazon and other companies to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement ten years early – achieving net zero carbon by 2040. ZeroAvia’s zero-emission aviation powertrain has real potential to help decarbonise the aviation sector, and we hope this investment will further accelerate the pace of innovation to enable zero-emission air transport at scale.”

The £12.3 million grant, which is being matched by funding from the project’s partners, is being made through the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Innovate UK and ATI.

“Next year, as the UK assumes the Chair of the G7 nations and hosts COP26, we have an exciting opportunity to lead through example on climate change as we power towards net zero with our new ambitious plan to put the UK at the forefront of the green industrial revolution and a green jobs boom,” said Energy Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng.

“ZeroAvia’s HyFlyer II project will bring yet another first for zero-emission flight to British skies, boosting our work through the Jet Zero Council, as well as positioning the country as a leader in green aviation technology and ensuring the UK builds back greener after the pandemic.”

Launched in June, the Jet Zero Council is an initiative between industry and government to focus on delivering net zero emissions commercial flight, whose members include ZeroAvia and British Airways.

IAG’s Hangar 51 accelerator programme works with start-ups and scale-ups from around the world to provide an opportunity to develop and test their products on “real world business challenges,” explains British Airways. On completion of the project, the airline says research and learnings from the process will be shared and the ZeroAvia and Hangar 51 teams will consider how the partnership will progress longer term.

“We are very excited to partner with ZeroAvia and get a glimpse of a zero-emissions future using hydrogen-powered aircraft,” said Louise Evans, British Airways’ Director of External Communications & Sustainability. “During the partnership, as well as assessing the environmental advantages of the technology, we will also be exploring the operational, commercial and customer experience improvements that can be achieved.”

Responded Sergey Kiselev, Head of Europe for ZeroAvia: “Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to truly zero emissions flight and we believe hydrogen is the best way to quickly and practically achieve this. Earlier this year, we proved that passengers will soon be able to board an emissions-free, hydrogen-powered aircraft for commercial services. In the years to come, we will scale that technology up to power larger aircraft over longer distances.

“We have found that in addition to improving the sustainability of flight, which is vital, hydrogen-electric technology has the potential to lower operating costs and improve the in-flight passenger experience. We are delighted to be working with British Airways, one of the world’s iconic airlines, and the Hangar 51 programme to explore how hydrogen-electric aircraft can power the fleet of the future. That promising future is closer than ever.”

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle said the airline was committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “In the short term this means improving our operational efficiency and introducing carbon offset and removal projects, while in the medium to longer term we’re investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuel and looking at how we can help accelerate the growth of new technologies, such as zero emissions hydrogen-powered aircraft.”

Four years earlier than planned, BA has now retired the last of its Boeing 747 fleet, to be replaced by more fuel-efficient Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s. It is expecting sustainable aviation fuel supplies from the planned Velocys Altalto waste-to-jet fuel plant, in which it is co-partner with Shell, located in north-east England to start arriving in 2025. Slated to produce around 20 million gallons a year, the airline estimates this would be enough to power more than 1,000 flights from London to New York each year in an A350.

In 2019, parent company IAG became the first airline group worldwide to commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (see article).

IAG CEO Luis Gallego told the Climate Ambition Summit 2020, convened on December 12 by the United Nations, the UK and France ahead of next year’s COP26: “Despite the current crisis, we believe it is absolutely critical that our industry plays its full part in addressing climate change. Our actions show how seriously we are taking the commitment. We will not back down from our ambition and efforts to reduce aviation carbon emissions.”

With a fleet of six freighter aircraft and 172 long-haul passenger aircraft and hubs at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo flies around 1.2 million tons of cargo a year. Customers will not only help pioneer the use of SAF in the aviation industry but will also scale up the SAF market by investing in the Cargo SAF Programme, says the group. When contributing, customers receive a third-party audited report, justifying the purchased volume of SAF in relation to traffic and indicating the reduction in CO2 emissions achieved.

“Our commitment to reducing CO2 emissions is one of the cornerstones of our cargo strategy,” said Adriaan den Heijer, EVP of Air France-KLM Cargo and Managing Director of Martinair. “The launch of a SAF programme for airfreight is an important step in our ambitious sustainability roadmap for the coming years. I invite all our customers to join us in creating a more sustainable cargo future.”

KLM already operates the Corporate BioFuel Programme that enables businesses with a corporate contract with the airline to offset the CO2 emissions from business passenger travel using SAF. Partners in the programme pay a surcharge that covers the difference in cost between biofuel and traditional fossil-based kerosene.

Lufthansa’s ‘Miles & More’ passenger customers can now compensate for their CO2 emissions as the app has integrated the Group’s Compensaid compensation platform, which was launched in 2019. Customers can see the CO2 emissions of their flight in the Miles & More app and offset them directly using their airmiles or with a charge in euros. The customer can decide whether to offset through the use by the airline of SAF or through certified reforestation projects of the myclimate foundation. The enabling application is called ‘mindfulflyer’ and was developed jointly by Miles & More and the Lufthansa Innovation Hub. With the mindfulflyer function, participants can be reminded regularly to compensate their flights.

Similarly, Lufthansa Cargo customers from next summer’s flight schedule are to be offered CO2-neutral airfreight on a regular basis by offsetting emissions through either myclimate’s reforestation projects or SAF. If SAF is used, Compensaid ensures the sustainable fuel is purchased to compensate for the resulting emissions, which is undertaken in conjunction with Lufthansa Group Fuel Management and SAF manufacturers. Compensaid’s digital technology makes the process from calculation to fuelling both transparent and efficient, reports Lufthansa, which guarantees purchased SAF is put into circulation within six months.

“CO2 compensation in the business customer sector is an important and effective step towards CO2-neutral aviation,” said Gleb Tritus, Managing Director, Lufthansa Innovation Hub. “Through the larger B2B volumes, we are increasing demand and thus promoting awareness, availability and cost-effectiveness of alternative fuels.”

Lufthansa Cargo has aligned its corporate responsibility commitment with five of the 17 UN sustainability development goals (SDGs) and has committed itself to anchoring the selected sustainability goals in its corporate activities and to making a substantial contribution to achieving them by 2030.

“Lufthansa Cargo supplies people and markets with urgent goods and raw materials. We are part and driver of globalisation, which stands for economic progress and opens up new opportunities for every individual. And that does not exclude sustainability,” said Peter Gerber, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “We will focus more strongly on it, both in an economic and social sense. In addition to investments in a modern freighter fleet, our commitment to alternative fuels also contributes to the UN’s ‘Climate Action’ sustainability goal. Through the possibility of using SAF, we are actively driving forward research in this area and can thus relieve the environment in the long term.”

Photo: Lufthansa Cargo’s first SAF CO2-neutral flight in partnership with DB Schenker

Although Covid-19 has drastically reduced travel, it is too early to say whether there will be a change in the way we travel in the future but the current situation is an opportunity for a fresh start, one that is greener and sustainable, believes David Hild, CEO of the Fly Green Fund.

“Travelling not only enables trade and the spread of new technologies, but it also broadens perspectives and our understanding for other cultures. I am convinced that travel makes the world a safer and a more open place,” he said. “Still, we need to recognise the impact travelling has on our climate and take action to mitigate it. An easy way to reduce emissions from flying is to buy sustainable aviation fuel.”

The scheme uses a carbon calculator on its website to work out the emissions on a particular flight and a cost to offset them using SAF. The traveller can adjust a slider up or down to choose the amount he or she wishes to pay. Three-quarters of the money paid to the Fund is used to buy SAF for delivery at Swedish airports, the remainder to develop the market and support initiatives to help increase demand and local production of SAF in Scandinavia. Payments from the travelling public go through a Swedish mobile payments system in local currency but Hild says the Fund will soon be accepting payments in euros to broaden its market.

The SAF deliveries this year have gone to Sundsvall-Timrå, Helsingborg Ängelholm and Kalmar Öland airports, and marked the first-ever use of SAF at the first two airports. The SAF supplied by truck to the airports was blended 34/66 with conventional fuel before entering the airports’ fuelling systems.

“We are replacing fossil fuel with SAF, thus reducing the impact of our customers’ flights. At the same time, we are increasing the demand for SAF and spreading knowledge about its importance to get aviation on track to meet its climate goals,” said Hild.

“The challenge is increasing the supply. Limited production means the price of SAF is about three to four times higher than conventional fuel, which in turn limits the demand. However, the higher focus on climate change has meant more airlines are interested in investing in SAF.”

Photo: Kalmar Öland Airport

The policies for aviation are set out in the Committee’s advice to government on the nation’s Sixth Carbon Budget – the legal limit for UK net GHG emissions over the 2033-37 period. This will necessitate a requirement for an overall 78% reduction in UK emissions by 2035 relative to 1990, equivalent to a 63% reduction from 2019, which it says would place the UK on a path to net zero by 2050 at the latest.

On aviation, the Committee’s report acknowledges the UK industry’s commitment through its Sustainable Aviation coalition to the net-zero goal for 2050 although this is not yet a policy goal for the government, which is due to consult in 2021 on its intended Aviation Decarbonisation Strategy.

“Higher-level strategic gaps include the lack of formal inclusion of international emissions in UK carbon budgets and the net zero target, and the need for a sector emissions trajectory to inform demand management and airport capacity policies,” points out the Committee. “Further research is also needed on non-CO2 effects and potential mitigation options.”

UK government policy has been not to include emissions from international flights in the carbon budgets pending developments with UN negotiations on ICAO’s CORSIA scheme but the Committee is strongly recommending a change. The Chairman of the CCC, Lord Deben, told journalists ahead of the publication of the report that the UN structure demanded international emissions from aviation and shipping be excluded from Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

“What the Committee is saying very clearly is that the UK government must take up the cudgels in order to include the emissions from these two sectors. If you don’t include them, then you are falsifying the fact when it comes to net zero, so we need to make that change,” he said. “We’ve really got to get aviation and shipping into the system, and pretty quickly.”

Existing UK aviation policy has been focused on establishing the Jet Zero Council with an ambition for zero-emissions commercial flight, match-funding for aircraft technology development and traded certificate price support for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Investments have also been made in a grant-funding competition for SAF production and the FlyZero aircraft technology initiative. There are also plans for a SAF clearing house to enable the UK to certify new fuels and a consultation on a SAF blending mandate for a potential start in 2025.

However, the RTFO inclusion is unlikely to drive significant development of renewable jet fuels and there is a lack of larger-scale deployment support and policy framework for these fuels, says the Committee. It advises the government to set out a policy package for supporting the near-term deployment of SAF facilities in the UK that may involve capital or loan guarantee support, and to transition to a more bespoke policy than the RTFO. A SAF blending mandate could ultimately provide more certainty to SAF plant investors than the RTFO, it believes. SAF facilities should have to install carbon capture and storage (CCS) or be built CCS-ready in order to maximise GHG savings, it adds, and SAF must meet strict sustainability standards.

The report says carbon pricing will be required to incentivise the transition to net zero although there are issues around equitable distribution of costs. Aviation fuel faces no taxes and international flights beyond EU borders are outside the scope of the EU ETS, so do not face a carbon price, it points out. The Committee noted that the recent citizens’ UK Climate Assembly favoured a frequent flyer levy to address fairness concerns.

The Committee proposes that in the long term, an economy-wide emissions trading scheme with a cap set to zero emissions would be a plausible way of balancing emissions and pricing carbon for sectors like aviation, so providing financial support for GHG emissions removals from, for example, woodland or peatland restoration, or engineered removals such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

Given expected developments in efficiency and SAF deployment, the Committee advises the government to implement a demand management policy to constrain UK aviation growth to 25% by 2050 from 2018 levels for the sector to contribute to the UK net zero goal. If efficiency and SAF develop quicker, it may be possible for demand growth to rise above 25%, provided that additional non-CO2 effects are acceptable or can be mitigated, it says.

“The government should assess its airport capacity strategy in the context of net zero and any lasting impacts on demand from Covid-19. Investments will need to be demonstrated to make economic sense in a net zero world and the transition towards it,” says the report.

“Unless faster than expected progress is made on aircraft technology and SAF deployment, such that the sector is outperforming its trajectory to net zero, current planned additional airport capacity would require capacity restrictions placed on other airports. Going forwards, there should be no net expansion of UK airport capacity unless the sector is assessed as being on track to sufficiently outperform a net emissions trajectory that is compatible with achieving net zero alongside the rest of the economy, and is able to accommodate the additional demand and still stay on track.”

Baroness Brown, Deputy Chair of the Committee, told journalists: “There is a limit on the aviation emissions we can afford so if it is crucial for our economy to have, say, more capacity in the airport system in London then that would mean reducing capacity elsewhere – it’s about no net increase in the capacity. We do assume there can be some growth in aviation and we’ve looked very carefully at the conclusions of the Climate Assembly and the assumptions we have made are closely aligned with it on issues like aviation.

“The aviation industry is hugely important to this country and we consider there will be some very important advances in technology and synthetic fuels, and we are keen that the government supports their development. As you go forward in time, the benefits from improving aircraft efficiency will also start to outweigh the costs of reducing aviation emissions. It’s not a gloomy story about aviation – there are opportunities but not for rampant growth in terms of flying, and certainly not in the short term until we have the solutions in place.”

On aviation’s non-CO2 effects, the report recommends work should be supported to reduce the scientific uncertainties and fund research into mitigation options. As a minimum goal, there should be no additional non-CO2 warming from aviation after 2050 and possibly earlier with a policy intervention.

“Alongside efforts at ICAO, the Aviation Decarbonisation Strategy and the package of domestic policies, plus parallel progress on a mechanism for deploying GHG removals in the UK, should put UK aviation emissions on track to contribute fully to meeting the Sixth Carbon Budget and the net zero target,” concludes the report.

Responding, Sustainable Aviation’s Programme Director, Andy Jefferson, commented: “We were the first national aviation group in the world to pledge to achieve net zero by 2050 in February of this year, and our members are fully committed to decarbonising aviation in line with global targets. 

“We are currently assessing potential interim targets for 2030, and plan to announce this during 2021 once we have clarity on a range of dependent factors. This includes the trajectory of the post-pandemic recovery, the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System and the global CORSIA scheme. 

“We have a clear Road-Map for how to achieve net zero in aviation through SAF, new cleaner aircraft and modernisation of airspace. The right action from government now on SAF in particular will have a marked effect on our ability to set and achieve ambitious interim targets for decarbonisation.”

Cait Hewitt, Deputy Director of UK environmental group the Aviation Environment Federation, said: “The CCC’s advice is clear: the government needs to call time on airport expansion. Zero-carbon aviation is currently an aspiration, not a reality, and while it’s right to pursue new technologies for cutting emissions, we can’t rely on these coming through fast enough to decarbonise the sector without also reducing aviation demand.

“Our analysis shows that current and planned UK airport expansions could increase aviation CO2 emissions by nearly 9 Mt a year in 2050 compared to a situation with no expansion.

“The aviation sector has taken a huge hit from the Covid pandemic but jobs per passenger had already been falling for many years. The government now needs to sharpen its focus on how to build the zero-carbon industries – and jobs – of the future.”

Photo: Heathrow Airport

Steve Arrowsmith, Chief Expert for Environmental Protection at EASA, who led the project, told a webinar organised by NGOs Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment there had been past studies of the topic in 2006 and 2008 that primarily focused on NOx emissions but it was considered the scientific understanding was not sufficiently mature to propose policies to address non-CO2 impacts. He said the understanding had evolved considerably over the past decade, including on some new effects, although there remained significant uncertainties with regard to the magnitude of these impacts.

The report was compiled by renowned climate science, technology, ATM and policy experts from the EU, Norway and the UK. The non-CO2 climate impacts assessed arise from aircraft engine emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), soot particles, oxidised sulphur species and water vapour. The chemical and physical processes can lead to contrail and contrail cirrus impacts in particular local atmospheric conditions, and complex impacts arising from NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions during cruise.

The net impact of aviation non-CO2 emissions is a positive radiative forcing (warming), although there are a number of individual positive and negative (cooling) forcings, for which large uncertainties remain. The largest aviation non-CO2 impacts that can be calculated with best estimates are those from net-NOx (NOx is not a climate warming agent per se but its emission results in changes in the chemical balance of the atmosphere to ozone and methane which have radiative impacts, quantified as a net-NOx effect) and contrail cirrus, both of which have significant uncertainties in their magnitude, particularly contrail cirrus. Contrails predominantly cool if the sun is close to the horizon and warm if the sun is high in the sky. However, they exclusively warm at night, thereby resulting in a net positive (warming) radiative forcing.

The scientific community has adopted Effective Radiative Forcing (ERF) as a better metric of an absolute impact when compared to Radiative Forcing (RF) as it shows better proportionality to changes in global mean surface temperature response, particularly for short-lived climate forcing agents such as clouds and aerosols. The usage of ERF rather than RF is potentially significant for aviation NOx and contrail cirrus impacts. Aviation ERFs are less well quantified than RFs for net-NOx impacts but better quantified for contrail cirrus forcing effects.

Research shows the ERF from the sum of non-CO2 impacts yields a net positive (warming) that accounts for more than half (66%) of the aviation net forcing in 2018. However, in the same year, the uncertainty distributions showed that non-CO2 forcing terms contributed about eight times more than CO2 to the overall uncertainty in aviation net forcing.

While the confidence level on the magnitude of the impact of NOx remains low, the current understanding is that NOx still has a net positive climate forcing effect. However, say the scientists, if surface emissions of tropospheric ozone precursors (NOx, CO, methane and non-methane hydrocarbons) decrease significantly in future and aviation emissions increase, it is possible that the net aviation NOx ERF will decrease, or even become negative (i.e. cooling), even with increasing total emissions of NOx.

“This highlights one of the problems of formulating NOx mitigation policy based on current emissions/conditions,” says the report.

Emissions multipliers

A major scientific and policy challenge also remains comparing long-lived aviation CO2 emissions with short-lived non-CO2 emissions and their impacts on a common scale. CO2 has multiple lifetimes in the atmosphere because of different timescales but a significant fraction – around 20% – accumulates and remains in the atmosphere for millennia.

The CO2 equivalent emissions metric (CO2-e) that is currently widely used, including within the EU ETS for stationary installations, is the Global Warming Potential for a time-horizon of 100 years (GWP100). This metric estimates an overall CO2 multiplier of 1.7 to account for future impacts of aviation non-CO2 emissions. To address the challenge, the scientific community has proposed a number of alternatives to the GWP100, including the Global Temperature change Potential (GTP) metric, which estimates a 1.1 multiplier.

The report points out that there is no exclusively correct choice of an equivalent emissions metric as the choice depends on the policy (for example whether it is a temperature target or an emissions reduction target) and the subjective choice of the time horizon of interest.

The simple approach of applying a multiplier to account for the climate effects of non-CO2 emissions – for example a net GWP100-based multiplier – averaged across the aircraft fleet and all atmospheric conditions may not be appropriate, say the experts. Also, they argue, the use of the multiplier does not incentivise reductions of non-CO2 emissions independently of CO2 emissions, neither at the global/regional fleet level nor on an individual flight-by-flight basis.

Another option would be to calculate the total climate impact of individual flights and then determine the CO2 equivalent emissions on a flight-by-flight basis. Such equivalents could be used as the basis for a policy instrument but, says the report, once again the magnitude of the equivalency depends on the choice of metric and time horizon.

The report states that a relatively new application of the GWP, referred to as GWP*, produces a better temperature-based equivalence of short-lived non-CO2 climate forcers by equating an increase in the emission rate of a short-lived climate forcer (SLCF) with a one-off ‘pulse’ emission of CO2. The GWP* is an example of a flow-based method that represents both short-lived and long-lived climate forcers explicitly as ‘warming-equivalent’ emissions that have approximately the same impact on the global average surface temperature over multi-decade to century timescales. Based on this method, the indication is that aviation emissions are currently warming the climate at around three times the rate of that associated with aviation CO2 emissions alone.

“It could be argued that temperature-based metrics, and the GWP*, are potentially more useful for temperature-based policy objectives, such as the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement. They also provide a more physical basis of actual impacts than GWPs for SLCFs,” says the report.

However, it adds: “This report does not recommend one specific metric or choice of time horizon. These choices partly depend on the suitability of the metric to a particular mitigation strategy and partly upon the user’s choices, which may be influenced by socio-economic factors, such as equity valuation.”

Non-CO2 mitigation

Technological or operational measures to mitigate aviation’s non-CO2 impacts that involve a reduction of a SLCF, such as NOx or contrail cirrus, are covered by the report. Because they can result in increased CO2 emissions, however, measures need to be considered carefully to ensure the net impact is beneficial, it cautions. “The ratio between benefits and disbenefits will change with the time horizon being considered but a reduction in SLCFs might make it easier to achieve climate change targets in the next decades and up to a century.”

Avoiding contrail cirrus-forming in ice-supersaturated regions of the atmosphere is an example of an operational measure to reduce the climate impact of aviation. There is some evidence, say the experts, that most of the total forcing comes from a few events where formation is large and long-lasting – sometimes referred to as ‘big hits’. Flights impacting these events should be targeted for avoidance, rather than all flights, and research into reliably forecasting ‘big hits’ should be undertaken. Avoidance of ice-supersaturation regions requires accurate prediction at least 24 hours in advance and meteorological forecast modelling needs to be improved as the capability to forecast persistent contrails is limited, says the report. The potential impacts of trade-offs from increased CO2 emissions as result of flight re-routings also need to be more thoroughly understood to ensure ‘no regret’ policies, it adds.

Reducing contrail cirrus impact, as well as improving air quality, could also be met without modification of flight trajectories or incurring an additional fuel consumption/CO2 penalty by reducing soot particle emissions. This could be achieved by using low-carbon sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The reduction in the use of aromatics in fuel is seen as an important mitigation measure to reduce non-CO2 aviation emissions. SAF has shown a reduction in non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) emissions in landing and take-off (LTO) operations and cruise due to their lower aromatic and sulphur content.

The report says there is scope for improving emission characteristics through the hydrotreatment of conventional fossil fuels to reduce aromatics and sulphur although the extra costs and energy requirements would need to be examined in order to balance the differential environmental benefits.

The global aircraft fleet NOx performance, in terms of certified data, is likely to improve as older high-NOx engine designs are replaced with new engine combustion technologies, with NOx emissions on a per passenger kilometre basis expected to show a reduction over time, although significant reductions may be limited. Levels of nvPM emissions are likely to improve as engines with technology designed for NOx control enter the fleet, although technologies to mitigate nvPM are less well understood than NOx. Beyond 2040-2050, hybrid-electric aircraft and revised configurations could offer significant reductions in NOx emissions.

Non-CO2 emissions charging

In the meantime, potential policy options to reduce non-CO2 climate impacts could include a NOx charge or the inclusion of aircraft NOx emissions in the EU ETS.

A charge on NOx would cover total NOx emissions over an entire flight and calculated using certified LTO NOx emissions data, the distance flown and a factor accounting for the relation between LTO and cruise emissions. The report cites a 2009 legal analysis that suggested neither ICAO’s Chicago Convention nor its recommended policies on taxes and charges prevented the implementation of such a measure. The charge would incentivise engine manufacturers to reduce LTO NOx emissions during their design process and airlines to minimise NOx emissions in operation, while taking into account associated trade-offs. Further research and monitoring is still needed on the climate impact of aviation NOx, caution the experts, but if there is the political will to take the option forward then they suggest the measure could potentially be implemented in five to eight years.

Incorporating aviation NOx emissions into the EU ETS would also take five to eight years and the same caveats over research and the uncertainty about the issue would apply, says the report, along with the incentive by manufacturers and airlines to reduce NOx. As existing EU ETS legislation uses the GWP100 metric to convert other greenhouse gases to CO2 equivalents for stationary installations, so it is assumed this would be the metric applied to the aviation sector. The measure could be implemented by adjusting the existing legislation and building on existing administrative processes and precedents, for example baseline, cap, auctioned allowances and MRV and accreditation. The same EU ETS geographical scope for aviation could be applied to NOx as that for CO2 emissions.

However, Arrowsmith told the webinar: “There is clearly uncertainty with regard to the climate impact and that was identified [by the experts] as a political risk in terms of the integrity of the EU ETS, recognising that as the science evolves, the intended effect of something that is put in place may change.”

Other policy measures could entail reducing the maximum volume concentration of aromatics within fuel uplifted at European airports and an EU blending mandate to boost the use of sustainable aviation fuels. If the political will was there to take these options forward, the aromatics measure could potentially be implemented in the five-to-eight-year period or perhaps longer, while a SAF blending mandate, already under consideration by the European Commission, could be achieved in a shorter timeframe, advises the report.

Another option, although more complicated and taking longer to implement, would be to levy a charge on the full climate impact of each individual flight, so having the broadest coverage of all the policy measures. The introduction of such a charge requires a good estimate of the climate costs at a flight level and, says the report, there is no scientific consensus on the methodology to calculate these costs.

“It could be argued that a levy that aims to internalise the external costs would be considered a charge and not a tax,” it says. “In this case, the charge would be related to recover the external costs of the climate impact of aviation.” Significant research is needed to develop and define this measure, it adds.

Arrowsmith said key messages to be taken from the report included a need to continuously review the latest scientific understanding on non-CO2 impacts and conduct further research, potentially through the EU’s planned Horizon Europe scientific research initiative, to increase certainty, consider different metrics and time horizons, enhance existing analytical methods to estimate aircraft non-CO2 emissions, and enhance capability to accurately predict the formation of persistent contrails. In addition, he said, there was a need to maintain and regularly review existing ICAO environmental certification standards on CO2, NOx and nvPM, and to incentivise the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels.

Responding to the report, Transport & Environment said the EU could not afford to wait the five to eight years proposed to implement aviation non-CO2 mitigation policies. It said the measures should be included in the Commission’s upcoming Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy that is due out shortly. Contrail avoidance should also be prioritised in the revision of the Single European Sky, it recommends, and pricing for non-CO2 emissions used to incentivise airlines to use eco-friendly flight paths.

“The European Commission was first tasked with addressing the non-CO2 emissions of flying in 2008. It shouldn’t waste any more time in implementing the solutions that are available today,” said Jo Dardenne, T&E’s Aviation Manager. “Contrails and other non-CO2 effects need to be urgently tackled to avert climate crisis.”

Photo: MIT

Following its flight from Cranfield University’s airfield, ZeroAvia is now planning the next and final stage of its six-seat development programme with a 250-mile zero-emission flight out of an airfield in Orkney, Scotland before the end of this year.

The programme in the UK is part-funded through the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute, which is supporting the HyFlyer project that aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional piston engine in propeller aircraft. As well as Protium, other partners in the project include the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and Intelligent Energy. The latter is optimising its high-power fuel cell technology for application in aviation while EMEC, producers of green hydrogen from renewable energy, is supplying the hydrogen required for flight testing and developing a mobile refuelling platform compatible with the plane.

ZeroAvia has joined the UK’s Jet Zero Council, a government and industry partnership launched by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this summer to drive net-zero ambitions for the UK aviation and aerospace sector. Along with government ministers, the Council is made up of representatives from the aviation industry, investor groups and an NGO, and will be chaired by the UK’s Transport Secretary and Business Secretary. The full list of Council members has now been published by the government.

The principal aims of the body are to:

• Develop and industrialise zero-emission aviation and aerospace technologies;
• Establish UK production facilities for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and commercialising the industry by driving down production costs; and
• Develop a coordinated approach to the policy and regulatory framework needed to deliver net zero aviation by 2050.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by modern society, and we know we need to go further and faster if we are to make businesses sustainable long into the future,” said Aviation Minister Robert Courts. “That’s why we’re bringing together government, business and investors to reduce emissions in the aviation sector. Through innovative technologies such as sustainable fuels, hybrid and eventually electric planes, we will build a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future for all.”

Sustainable Aviation (SA), which committed in February to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, believes a UK SAF industry could add £2.9 billion ($3.7bn) annually to the economy, create 20,000 jobs in SAF production and export services, and deliver savings of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2038. The industry group is calling for £500 million ($640m) in government funding, made up of £429 million in government-backed loan guarantees for the initial first-of-its-kind SAF production facilities, £50 million in grants and development support for new SAF technologies, and £21 million to establish a UK clearing house to enable SAF testing and approval.

The SA-commissioned research undertaken by energy consultancy E4tech showed 14 SAF production facilities could be built in seven industrial clusters situated in Teesside, Humberside, North West England, South Wales, Southampton, St Fergus and Grangemouth, Scotland. Humberside is the intended location for the Altalto waste-to-jet-fuel facility proposed by Velocys and backed by British Airways and Shell, which is expected to be the first in the UK to produce SAF.

“The research shows that it is possible to deliver on the government’s Jet Zero ambition and transform aviation using readily available feedstocks, innovative technology and existing aircraft,” commented Henrik Wareborn, CEO of Velocys. “With Altalto, the Humber could fuel this transformation, cutting carbon and creating jobs in the process. As a key cluster for the development of this new domestic industry, the region has a fantastic opportunity to establish itself as the global hub for fuelling future air travel.”

Added Adam Morton, Chair of Sustainable Aviation: “Sustainable aviation fuels will be essential for the global aviation industry in a net zero world and the UK has a golden opportunity to become a world-leader by commercialising this technology at an early stage.

“There are enormous benefits in terms of jobs and growth across these clusters. By backing SAF in this way, the government can kickstart a green recovery and create high-quality and futureproof jobs for thousands of people. All of this can be delivered at the same time as slashing carbon emissions.”

Speaking at a cross-party parliamentary debate he called to discuss the work of the Jet Zero Council, Andrew Selous MP said: “We should harness our huge strength in aviation technology and engineering to find new solutions to allow us to fly without wrecking the planet.

“We also need to ensure that the United Kingdom is at the forefront of sustainable aviation, so that the high-skilled, high-wage jobs of the future are provided here. We cannot leave this to chance, as has unfortunately happened with other technologies in the past.”

Responded Aviation Minister Robert Courts: “Britain has always led the way on aviation, and we will continue to do so. There is a huge prize in sight: developing the sector that meets the challenges of the future, and we will be front and centre, capturing those first mover advantages.”

Commenting after the debate, Morton said: “The support from a broad range of MPs from right across the political landscape is testament to this crucial issue. It’s so important to see this coalition come together to back early stage sustainable aviation fuel facilities.”

The next meeting of the Jet Zero Council is due to take place at the end of this month, which Sustainable Aviation said would be an opportunity for government and industry to discuss and make progress on accelerating the development of early-stage SAF facilities.

The only environmental group represented on the Council is the Aviation Environment Federation. Its Director, Tim Johnson, said: “Some government support and incentive for sustainable aviation fuel R&D is reasonable, and happens already, but that helps to accelerate bringing a product to market. But once at market, the question is scaling up and getting it into the fleet. The quid pro quo must therefore be that industry accepts it can’t rely on voluntary approaches and market forces, which hasn’t really worked to date for SAF because it doesn’t create certainty for investors – and that governments must regulate and introduce effective carbon pricing that ensures uptake.”

Photo: ZeroAvia’s Piper M-class retrofitted aircraft undertakes first hydrogen flight