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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 confirms £32.9m boost for walking and cycling schemes

Posted on January 5, 2023 by dishanth

The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed the £32.9m scheme on Monday (2 January), timing the announcement with the New Year in recognition of the fact that many Brits will be making resolutions to walk or cycle more.

Councils will need to apply for a share of the funding and will need to clarify their plans for ‘capability’ improvements and improving infrastructure. The former refers to training and retaining local members of staff – including engineers, planners and facilitators – to develop and deliver schemes. Staff will be supported to plan, consult, deliver and communicate schemes.

“Developing teams that lead active travel programmes will create more cost-effective and well-targeted projects,” the DfT said in a statement.

The DFT has stated that infrastructure options that could be eligible for funding include walking and cycling infrastructure on high streets, safety zones around schools and roads suitable for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users.

Safety will be the main focus of all new designs and routes, given that DfT research has concluded that safety concerns are the top deterrent to cycling. These concerns impact women in particular, with eight in ten women polled by the DfT in support of more protected cycle lanes.

Aside from infrastructure, the funding will support cycle training schemes, school walking groups and subsidized bike rental schemes.

“If we want to enable hundreds of thousands more people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday trips then we need to deliver high-quality schemes that make it feel easy, fun and safe,” said the Government’s National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman.

“Of course, ensuring the right technical skills are in place at a local level is vital but so is engagement. Survey after survey has shown strong community support for making space for active travel but it’s vital that people get strong input into helping to decide what is the right solution for their area.”

Policy: Shifting gear?

The UK Government pledged £2bn to walking and cycling as part of its Covid-19 recovery plans – specifically the Ten-Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The Plan also earmarked £3bn for decarbonising and expanding public transport networks.

It has since trialled ‘cycling on prescription’.

Nonetheless, the Government has repeatedly been warned that its plans for decarbonising transport do not place enough of a focus on modal shift – the need to ensure that more journeys are taken using active transport and other zero or low-carbon options. The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) most recent annual progress report to Parliament confirmed that the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, if enacted in full, will likely only bring about half of the emissions reductions needed through to the mid-2030s.

The current cost-of-living crisis may be a reason for the Government to rethink its approach. It is capping bus fares on thousands of routes across England at £2 until the end of March, recognising that costs and Covid-19 concerns have deterred members of the public from bus use in recent years. In launching the new walking and cycling funding, the DfT emphasised Cycling UK research concluding that motorists could save £126 per year by replacing short car journeys with bike rides.

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