The UK Department for Transport in July 2022 launched its new ‘jet zero’ strategy, in order to boost the country’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) sector and attain net-zero emissions in domestic aviation by 2040. The strategy, which is part of the nation’s bigger goal of reaching net-zero emissions across all walks of the economy by 2050, aims to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction by 2025.
It has also mandated the production of at least 10% of aviation fuel from sustainable sources by 2030, apart from launching the USD 197.8 million (£165 million) ‘Advanced Fuels Fund’ to support related pioneering projects.
While the UK government is now moving ahead with the next phase of a $1.19 million (£1 million) competition to provide the first ever net-zero 100% SAF-driven transatlantic flight, the ‘Jet Zero strategy’ has also included a plan for the country’s aviation industry’s carbon emissions to stay below pre-COVID levels.
The European Parliament in the same month approved a set of draft rules to significantly increase SAF usage. The rules say that the aircrafts refuelling at European Union airports would be obliged to uplift kerosene mixed with SAF. The percentage of SAF in the mix would be increased after five-year intervals.
Under the European Parliament’s position, aviation fuel must include 2% SAF from 2025 and raise it to 85% by 2050, a significant increase from the Commission’s original proposal of 63%.
The European Parliament also pushed up sub-targets for synthetic fuels to 50% of all jet fuel by 2050.
The proposed rules have to be agreed upon by negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states during the talks slated to start in September 2022. The European Parliament has also proposed the creation of a ‘Sustainable Aviation Fund’ to support research and investment into clean aircraft propulsion technologies.
The SAF race has started
Boeing and Alder Fuels in July 2022 announced a new partnership to expand SAF production around the world.
Using Boeing aircraft, the companies will certify Alder-derived SAF, apart from advancing policies to expedite the transition to renewable energy in aviation, and grow the amount of SAF for the global aerospace market. Boeing is also planning to establish a research and development facility in Japan to expedite SAF-related works, apart from starting projects on electric and hydrogen aircraft technologies.
In the United States, the Joe Biden government has launched its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge Roadmap. The policy outlines the government-wide strategy for scaling SAF production across the country. The Roadmap aligns government and industry actions to achieve the goals of the SAF Grand Challenge, which was signed in 2021, keeping in mind goals like achieving a minimum of a 50% reduction in life cycle GHG emissions compared to conventional fuel, producing three billion gallons of SAF yearly by 2030 and supplying sufficient SAF to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand by 2050.
Vienna-based energy firm OMV and Lufthansa Group have now entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of over 800,000 tons of SAF for the years 2023 to 2030. Expanding their existing partnership, these companies will scout new locations and technologies for SAF production and delivery. The news came amid OMV beginning the supply of the first volumes of SAF to Austrian Airlines.
Carbon transformation company Twelve, Alaska Air Group and Microsoft have entered into an MoU to collaborate on advancing the SAF market to include fuels derived from recaptured CO2 and renewable energy, apart from working toward the first commercial demonstration flight in the United States powered by Twelve’s E-Jet. The US-based Delta Airline will buy 385 million gallons of green hydrogen-derived SAF, making it the largest deal of its kind. Its rival American Airlines bettered the tally by finalising an agreement with biofuel company Gevo to purchase 500 million gallons of SAF over the next five years.
In July 2022, Formula One giant Mercedes announced investing in SAF as part of their commitment to reach ‘Net Zero’ by 2030. The SAF usage will help Mercedes achieve a near 50% reduction in the team’s air travel footprint for their race personnel, with flights currently accounting for over a quarter of the team’s projected carbon footprint. The motorsport team’s SAF purchase currently falls outside of the Formula One cost cap.
In short, SAF and other forms of carbon-neutral energy sources are now seeing a lot of investments from the leading airlines around the world, as the aviation sector races aggressively towards the target of ensuring ‘Net Zero’ carbon footprint by 2050.
As per stats, a commercial aircraft emits around 100 times more CO2 hourly than a bus/train ride, and the emissions of global aviation are around 1 billion tons of CO2 per year. The sector contributes an estimated 2.4% of global annual CO2 emissions. Across various climate summits of late, commercial aviation has faced flak for its growing share of the carbon footprint behind global warming. So the desperation of moving towards a ‘Net Zero’ scenario has been clearly evident from the stakeholders, and the carbon-neutral energy sources will see more R&D activities in the coming days.
The European Commission has predicted that by the middle of the 21st century, demand for flying will increase greenhouse gas emissions from this sector by 300% over 2005 levels.
In October 2022, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) led a two-week-long negotiation involving 184 nations to agree on carbon emissions reduction measures. Some of the discussed measures under the framework are ramping up innovative aircraft technologies, streamlining flight operations and the increased usage of SAF.
Understanding Sustainable Aviation Fuel, electric and hydrogen aircraft concepts
As per the US Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, “Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is made from renewable biomass and waste resources, which have the potential to deliver the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel but with a fraction of its carbon footprint, giving airlines solid footing for decoupling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from flight.”
SAF is basically a biofuel, which can power aircraft having similar properties to conventional jet fuel but with a smaller carbon footprint. Some emerging SAF pathways even ensure a net-negative Greenhouse Gas footprint.
Electric aircraft, on the other hand, is a concept where jets powered by electricity, will be providing zero emissions and quieter flights in near future. Investments have been growing here as well.
DHL Express’ Alice electric cargo plane saw its maiden flight on September 2022. The cargo giant will have twelve such jets, manned by a single pilot, apart from carrying a maximum payload of 1,200kg and providing a maximum range of 815km. United Airlines has committed to USD 15 million in investments in Eve Air Mobility, an electric aviation start-up. United Airlines will buy 200 electric air taxis, referred to as eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle). Air Canada has entered into a purchase agreement for 30 ES-30 electric-hybrid aircraft under development by Sweden-based Heart Aerospace. The regional aircraft, expected to enter service in 2028, will generate zero emissions flying on battery power. GE Aviation has proven the operations of its hybrid-electric propulsion system at 45,000 ft. The programme will enter the full-fledged flight-testing stage in the coming years.
A hydrogen-powered aircraft generally uses hydrogen fuel as a power source. Hydrogen can be burned in a jet engine/internal combustion engine, or can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity for powering a propeller. In July 2022, engine maker Rolls-Royce announced pairing up with US airline easyJet to develop and test hydrogen combustion engine technology. The two companies will work together on a range of ground-based tests from 2022 onwards.
Are these concepts feasible?
For example, take SAF for example and the ‘jet zero’ strategy, scientists are not so impressed, especially when it comes to policy execution. The country will have to devote half its farmland or more than double its total renewable electricity supply to fulfil its “jet zero” ambitions.
The Royal Society, the country’s national academy of scientific studies, has stated that “there is no single, clear, sustainable alternative to jet fuel,” which can support the current level of aviation operations.
The apex research institute has even remarked that while the UK government and aviation industry have set a target of 2050 to balance out Greenhouse Gas emissions from civilian aircraft activities, massive challenges remain around the availability, costs and impacts of alternative fuels, as well as the need for new types of passenger jets and required airport infrastructure changes around the world to allow the most probable long-term solutions.
However, stakeholders have carved out some solutions towards the execution of this ‘Jet Zero’ strategy.
Virgin Atlantic has been reportedly scrutinising its fleet efficiency to support net-zero targets and has made headway with the SAF use in its daily operations.
British Airways has been offsetting carbon emissions on all of its United Kingdom-based flights since 2020 and became the first airline to implement the commercial use of SAF in the country, after signing a deal with Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. This deal will enable the airline to power its flights with SAF and as part of its British Airways’ ‘Better World sustainability’ programme, the aviation giant is delivering a range of short, medium and long-term initiatives to decarbonise and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The airline has recently also invested in sustainable aviation company ZeroAvia to understand how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a leading role in the future of sustainable flying. ZeroAvia completed the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft around 2020 and is now eyeing introducing a zero-emission system capable of flying a 20-seat aircraft by 2025.
To know whether the aviation sector will be able to fulfil at least some part of its ‘Net Zero’ carbon emission goals, the Global Business Outlook caught up with Keith Tonkin, Managing Director of “Aviation Projects”, a leading Australian company which provides airport and aerodrome infrastructure-related solutions. Mr. Keith Tonkin, who is also the co-founder and Director of both strategic and commercial advisory, “AVISTRA” and advanced air mobility collaboration platform, “GREENBIRD”, gave his insights on the aviation sector’s climate goals, technologies that can be used towards fulfilling it, prospects of Sustainable Aviation Fuel and much more.
Q) The global aviation industry has adopted the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Can it be achieved?
A) I think the idea of net-zero by 2050 is a wonderful aspiration but it is going to be very difficult to achieve. The interesting thing that is happening alongside all the very costly technology developments aimed at allowing unabated air travel is the curtailing of flights in certain jurisdictions – think the banning of short-haul domestic flights in France, and the limitations being imposed on aircraft movements at Amsterdam Schiphol. These movement reduction measures are a surefire way of reducing carbon emissions, but are we all ready to stop travelling by air?
Q) As per a report from World Economic Forum, aviation is causing around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. The European Commission predicts that greenhouse emissions will go up by 300% over 2005 levels soon. What is your take on this?
A) Travel restrictions and other consequential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel have demonstrated that we can get by without flying around the place for business, tourism etc, but pent-up demand is now coming back to the market and it’s clear that we like to travel by air. Notwithstanding some of the measures being taken to curtail air travel in the short term, I think it’s appropriate that we work out how to reduce the aviation industry’s overall contribution to greenhouse emissions in the longer term.
Q) Sustainable Aviation Fuels can reduce emissions by 80%, as per IATA. Do you think that the sector needs to invest heavily in this solution?
A) Sustainable Aviation Fuels are a significant part of the overall emissions reduction solution. The challenge is scaling the production and supply of these fuels to meet demand.
Q) Honeywell recently said that it would introduce technology that might enhance the supply of ethanol-based, lower-carbon aviation fuel. Do you think more such innovations are needed?
A) Absolutely. At the moment we need to explore all economically feasible options to replace carbon-based fuel sources.
Q) Sustainable Aviation Fuel is only available at a select number of airports worldwide and the industry is adopting a ‘book and claim’ accounting system. What should be the roadmap to meet the growing demand for SAF?
A) These accounting measures are a good start to encouraging investment and supply of SAF, but ultimately the global aviation industry needs to physically produce this fuel and have it available for uplift to aircraft wherever they operate. There are some markets where SAF is not economically feasible to produce and make available at airports where it is needed, and so the cost (and associated carbon emissions) of transport and storage is a significant challenge to overcome.
Q) WEF says that double-claiming problems will become more severe as more nations enforce a specific amount of SAF mixed in all aviation fuel. How to deal with this problem?
A) First of all, we need to apply the lessons learnt from other carbon-offsetting schemes in terms of ensuring that the accounting is accurate and valid – this will give confidence to users and investors. I expect that industry participants are sufficiently motivated to see the program work and that they will ensure appropriate rigour in this regard. Ultimately, SAF will simply need to be available at airports so that it can be uploaded to aeroplanes, and then the accounting problem will become effectively redundant.
Q) Airbus is working on the concept of hydrogen-fuelled zero-emission passenger aircraft. Do you think this will be a game-changer for the aviation sector?
A) The idea of hydrogen-fuelled zero-emission passenger aircraft is very enticing. There are some challenges in terms of producing, storing, transporting and carrying hydrogen that need to be overcome to make it viable at scale.
Q) Also Embraer has this project called Energia Hybrid, which works on parallel hybrid-electric propulsion. What is your observation on this?
A) I think the focus on developing smaller aircraft for the short-haul market is a good starting point for developing this technology, and I look forward to seeing it in operation.