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Wizz Air, Heathrow and Boeing unveil sustainable aviation fuel plans

Posted on March 2, 2023 by dishanth

Wizz Air has entered into a new agreement with Neste to purchase and use SAFs from 2025 onwards. The agreement gives the airline the purchasing option of more than 36,000 tonnes of SAFs annually.

Organizations backing SAFs claim that the solution can reduce life-cycle emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel. However, most airlines currently only use it in small proportions in blends – partly due to a lack of supply and partly because current international regulations limit biofuel blends to 50%.

Wizz Air’s executive vice president Ian Malin said: “At Wizz Air, we continue to invest in innovative technology and believe that SAF is a key part of the solution for decarbonizing the aviation industry. The partnership with Neste, the world’s leading producer of SAF, reaffirms our progress in reducing our carbon emissions intensity, which is already one of the lowest in the world.

“Working together with Neste, we will drive the adoption of SAF throughout our network, paving the way to a more sustainable future for aviation,”

The new agreement builds on the airline’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions intensity per passenger kilometer by 25% by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.

Heathrow’s SAF target

The announcement comes as the UK’s largest airport has called for more Government support to help increase the uptake of SAFs.

Heathrow Airport announced this week that it was aiming to triple its SAF usage this year, from 0.5% to 1.5%. However, the company’s chief executive has called for more legislative support, as reported by the BBC.

In 2021, Heathrow Airport incorporated aviation fuel made from waste oils and fats for the first time. The SAFs are HEFA (Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids) and consist of waste vegetable oils, waste oils and fats. According to Neste, its SAFs can reduce emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil fuel jet use over the life cycle.

The SAF used was equivalent to fueling 5-10 short-haul flights, but Heathrow stated at the time that it could act as a base to establish proof of concept that SAFs can be used on a commercial scale to reduce emissions.

The Airport has since updated its sustainability strategy, pledging a 15% reduction in carbon in absolute terms from flight emissions by 2030, against a 2030 baseline. The Airport states that it will increase the use of SAFs, improve the efficiency of aircraft and modernise airspace to reach the target. Electric aircraft are not mentioned and neither is capping growth in passenger numbers.

The Airport first unveiled its ‘Heathrow 2.0’ sustainability strategy in 2017, setting 2050 targets for zero-carbon operations and flights as well as zero-waste operations and 100% sustainable water consumption.

Under UK policy, the Government is proposing that airlines operating in the UK ensure that SAFs account for at least 10% of their fuel demand by 2030.

Boeing’s purchase

Last week, Boeing agreed to purchase 5.6 million gallons (21.2 million liters) of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced by Neste, in a move that will more than double the company’s SAF procurement from last year.

“We are demonstrating our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and catalyse the SAF industry,” Boeing’s vice president of environmental sustainability Sheila Remes said.

“This SAF procurement makes up 25% of Boeing’s total jet fuel needs for last year including our production, delivery, Boeing ecoDemonstrator, and Dreamlifter flights, and we aim to increase that portion in the years to come.”

Boeing claims that the SAFs meet or exceed the safety and technical specifications it is subjected to and also has a “drop-in” capability so it can be blended directly with petroleum jet fuel. The new agreements will see SAFs blended with conventional jet fuel at a 30/70 ratio.

These criteria are based on internationally recognized sustainability standards, such as those established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

Boeing is notably planning to debut commercial aircraft capable of using 100% biofuel by 2030. Commercial planes at present can only use blends of up to 50%. A Boeing spokesperson told edie that SAF procurement made up 25% of Boeing’s total jet fuel needs for last year.

Boeing is a member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) which is being operated by the Environmental Defence Fund and Rocky Mountain Institute, with support for the Climate Group, best known for schemes such as RE100 and EV100.

Source edie

Hydrogen and electric aircraft projects backed with fresh £113m of funding

Posted on February 7, 2023 by dishanth

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have today (7 February) announced the funding for the projects as part of their collaborative work to decarbonise the aviation sector.

Aviation accounts for around 3% of annual global emissions and, pandemic aside, its absolute emissions and share of annual global emissions have continued to increase over the past two decades. The UK Government has pledged that all airport operations and domestic flights should be net-zero in operation by 2040 and that all international flights should be net-zero by 2050.

For flights, the priority for the near to medium term for the Government is to improve efficiency and to scale the use of alternative fuels, often called Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). But, in the longer term, the Government sees emerging technologies including hydrogen-powered aircraft and electric aircraft playing a role.

Scaling these emerging technologies is the reason for the provision of the new funding, which is being made through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). The funding announced today includes a blend of Government funding and private funding, totalling £113m.

£36.6m of the funding is going to a hydrogen engine project led by Rolls-Royce, developing the integrated powerplant architecture for a liquid hydrogen gas turbine.

A further £14.8m is being allocated to another hydrogen project led by Rolls-Royce, under which experts are developing the combustor element of a liquid hydrogen gas turbine. This project is called Hydrogen Engine System Technologies or HYEST for short.

Rolls-Royce and its consortium partners are also being allocated £31.4m for the liquid hydrogen gas turbine project, developing a liquid hydrogen fuel system for the turbine.

A statement on the Rolls-Royce website reads: “While hydrogen can be used directly as a fuel in a gas turbine, it is likely to start in the shorter haul segments, where the aircraft range is shorter.

“Given volume limitations attached to the storage of hydrogen and the limited power density of fuel cells, for long range, SAF fuelling gas turbines will remain the most likely solution moving forward. Hydrogen will offer options in shorter range segments and has the potential to progress onto larger segments, as the technology is proven and hydrogen fuel becomes more readily available.”

In announcing the new funding for hydrogen aircraft, the DfT and BEIS hailed their previous support of ZeroAvia, which completed the maiden flight of its largest hydrogen fuel cell aircraft to date last month. The 19-seater aircraft completed a ten-minute test flight from Cotswold Airport on 19 January.

Electric aircraft

Also receiving funding today is Vertical Aerospace, which is developing a prototype propulsion battery for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The Government has today announced £30.8m of funding.

Vertical Aerospace celebrated “wheels up” for the first time in September 2022, as its electric VX4 aircraft completed its first airborne testing. It is hoping to certify the model by 2025, enabling commercial flights of a pilot and up to four passengers. It is aiming for 100 miles of range and cruise speeds of 150mph.

As of September 2022, more than 1,400 conditional pre-orders for the aircraft had been placed. Clients include Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Japan Air and Air Asia.

The UK Government has been funding a range of projects in the eVTOL and drone space in recent years. Last April, Urban Air-Port opened what it claimed was the first fully operational eVTOL hub for a trial in Coventry with Government support. Aside from Urban Air-Port, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund provided funding to more than 40 organisations through the Future Flight Challenge programme in 2021.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “As the whole world moves to greener forms of aviation, there is a massive opportunity for the UK’s aerospace industry to secure clean, green jobs and growth for decades to come. Together with the companies that share our ambitions, we are determined to seize this moment.”

Jet Zero: New steps, old controversies

As well as announcing the new funding today, the Government is opening the latest round of consultations on its Jet Zero Strategy. This time, it is seeking evidence on the best way to decarbonise airport operations in line with net-zero by 2040.

The announcements have been timed to coincide with the next meeting of the Jet Zero Council at Boeing’s offices in London. The Council was set up to help shape the Strategy and facilitate its delivery.

Many green groups have previously accused the Government of letting the aviation industry lead the strategy based on what is financially beneficial to them, rather than what is recommended by climate scientists.

The UK Government’s own advisory body, the Climate Change Committee, has recommended a cap on passenger number growth for the UK to deliver its 2050 net-zero goal and interim carbon budgets. Yet Bristol Airport’s expansion has been permitted and, despite being ruled unlawful in the Court of Appeal, the Heathrow expansion is now pressing ahead. Shapps has supported Heathrow in this decision.

The Government’s approach is, instead, technology-based. It argues that it does not need to cap growth if new technologies scale on time and deliver the stated emissions savings. Today, once again, Shapps is using the rhetoric of “guilt-free” flying and of “not clipping the sector’s wings”.

Source edie

UK Government promises first ‘net-zero’ transatlantic flight in 2023

Posted on May 18, 2022May 17, 2022 by dishanth

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps unveiled the ambition today (14 May) after a meeting with executive decision-makers at airlines, fuel producers and aircraft manufacturers in the US this week. He said that the flight will “demonstrate the vital role that sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) can play in decarbonising aviation”.

The flight will be powered using 100% SAF, with no conventional jet fuel in the mix. The Department for Transport (DfT) has asked the industry to prioritise the use of SAFs made using waste cooking oil and from household waste, as SAFs made using virgin biofuels can be detrimental in terms of land-use.

Currently, international regulations limit the level of SAF in blends to 50%. Flights can only be powered by blends exceeding 50% if the Civil Aviation Authority deems the aircraft suitable for a higher proportion. The DfT and industry will work to obtain this certification; Rolls-Royce has stated that it has already tested large, commercial aero engines using 100% SAF successfully.

SAFs purport to generate lifecycle emissions at levels significantly lower than conventional jet fuel. The DfT is forecasting a reduction of 70-80% in this case. To ensure that the transatlantic flight is net-zero, the DfT will work with the aviation industry to offset residual emissions.

A Department spokesperson told edie: “The Government will not prescribe the greenhouse gas removal approach to be utilised. Rather, it is anticipated that industry will make the decision based on a variety of factors such as innovation, availability, cost and time.”

Common offsetting approaches include financing nature restoration, financing the transition to renewable electricity, accelerating the uptake of cleaner cooking fuels in developing regions and financing nature protection. Offsetting using man-made carbon capture technologies is in its relative infancy, as there are not an abundance of large-scale projects in operation yet.

An approach to be expected

The UK Government’s approach to decarbonising aviation is broadly in line with that of industry body the UK Sustainable Aviation coalition, which is prioritising efficient planes with SAF use. Residual emissions can then be addressed using offsetting.

In terms of SAF supply, the DfT has asked the industry to collaborate to bring at least three commercial SAF production plants online in the UK by 2025. It has partnered with LanzaTech, Velocys and Philipps 66 to help deliver this ambition, through its Jet Zero Council.

The DfT is also mulling a SAF mandate. Its proposals involve requirements for jet fuel producers to ensure that at least 10% of their production annually is SAF by 2030, rising to 75% by 2050.

Many green groups have urged the Government to take a more diversified approach to achieving its net-zero targets for aviation, which are set at 2040 for airport operations and domestic flights, and 2050 for international flights. Concerns have been expressed that the industry and the Government are not giving enough focus to electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft which, while they will take longer to commercialise, may well result in far lower lifecycle emissions.

The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) most optimistic forecast for the use of SAF in the UK’s aviation industry is for it to cover 7% of fuel supply in 2030. With this in mind, and with electric and hydrogen technologies for large planes still years from maturity, the CCC has recommended that the Government caps airport expansion and limits the growth in passenger numbers. The Conservative Party has, to date, been staunchly against this approach – as have most large businesses in the sector. Shapps has stated that SAF offers a pathway to “guilt-free” flights.

Source edie