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Aviation sector supports new net-zero transition strategy

Posted on July 18, 2022 by dishanth

A new report delivered by the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) and the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition (CST) has outlined a transition strategy for the aviation sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The report is backed by major companies including Airbus, American Airlines, easyJet and Shell.

The report, which is backed by 27 airlines in 19 countries, 1,950 airports in 185 countries, 10 aircraft producers and suppliers, 21 fuel producers & upstream energy providers, notes the steps the aviation sector can take to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, including short-terms targets.

According to the report, reaching net-zero will require a “doubling of historical fuel efficiency gains of aircraft” that will support the development of more innovative – yet contested – solutions.

The report calls for the market entry of novel propulsion aircraft such as hydrogen or electric by the mid-2030s.

Additionally, the sector will need to invest in SAFs, which have been met with criticism by some green groups who claim that a lot of feedstocks for the fuel can’t be considered sustainable. Earlier this week the European Parliament voted to clarify what constitutes as SAFs, with bans imposed on some biofuel feedstocks.

According to the report, 10–15% of the final jet fuel demand needs to come from SAFs by 2030 in order to allow a scaling up of the technology to reach net-zero by 2050. This, the report states, requires a ramp-up of the current SAF project pipeline by a factor of 5–6.

While fuel costs for the sector are expected to increase as a result of the net-zero transition, the report states that the cost of flying could remain stable due to increased efficiency gains.

The average annual investments are estimated at $175bn annually up to 2050, at which point the aviation sector could account for 10% of global renewable electricity demand and up to 30% of hydrogen demand. The sector would likely need to capture around 600–850 Mt CO2 from the atmosphere are part of offsetting and balancing mechanisms.

The Mission Possible Partnership’s chief executive Matt Rogers said: “MPP is mapping critical strategies on how to turn the paper goals of annual climate summits into action. An unmitigated aviation sector would be responsible for 22% of emissions by 2050. This transition strategy outlines plans and projects that are high on the agenda of ambitious companies, including the ‘nuts and bolts’ of how to build 300 Sustainable Aviation Fuel plants by 2030.”

The aviation industry accounts for around 3% of global emissions and could rise to 22% by 2050 if left unmitigated.

In 2020, members of the UK Sustainable Aviation pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the sector by 2050, to assist with the UK’s overall net-zero strategy.

A roadmap to accompany the launch suggests the sector believes it can accommodate a 70% increase in passengers by 2050, while reducing carbon emissions from more than 30 million tonnes a year to net-zero. New aircraft and engine technology and smarter flight operations have been heralded as some of the solutions to support the transition.

The use of “robust carbon offsets and investment in innovative carbon removal solutions” will be vital to address residual UK aviation emissions by 2050, the report notes.

Globally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has supported a resolution calling for the global sector to reach net-zero by 2050, unveiling plans that rely on SAFs for 65% of emissions cuts.

Notably absent from IATA’s plans are any scenarios in which global passenger numbers decline.

Commenting on the new pathway report, Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: “We believe that novel propulsion technologies, including hydrogen, can offer the most sustainable solution for a short haul airline like easyJet.

“The adoption of these technologies will help reduce the climate impact of our operations while preserving the immense economic and social benefits that aviation brings to the world. We therefore support the Mission Possible Partnership Aviation Transition Strategy.”

Source Edie

Sustainable aviation fuel derived from cooking oil, trash taking off

Posted on April 15, 2022 by dishanth

The move toward sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from cooking oil, household rubbish and other materials is gaining momentum in the airline industry, which has been the target of criticism because of the high carbon dioxide emissions associated with flying.

In late March, aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE flew an A380 jumbo jet for about three hours powered by SAF for a test flight in Toulouse, southwestern France, indicating the safety of SAF and signalling a wave of change in the aviation industry.

The term “flight shaming” was popularised by environmental activist Greta Thunberg. In 2019, the Swedish teenager crossed the Atlantic Ocean by yacht when she travelled to the UN headquarters in New York for a climate summit, instead of travelling by plane.

Jet fuel derived from crude oil is responsible for most of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the airline industry, which has come under increased scrutiny amid a global push for decarbonization.

The A380 flight lasted about three hours, operating one Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on 100 per cent SAF. AIRBUS/SUPPLIED

The sense of urgency is particularly strong in Europe, where environmental issues attract more attention. European countries have started setting goals for the introduction of SAFs, which currently account for less than 1 per cent of the total global supply of aviation fuels.

In Norway, it has been mandatory for airlines to use SAF mixed with other fuels since 2020, and Britain wants 75 per cent of aviation fuel to be powered by SAFs by 2050.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, aims to adopt this year a target of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions among international airliners by 2050. As a result, efforts by the world’s airlines are likely to accelerate.

Securing raw materials is one of many challenges that lie ahead.

In urban areas, there are multiple sources of used cooking oil, such as restaurant chains, so procurement is not expected to be difficult.

However, price inflation has been seen due to demand among overseas manufacturers.

Keeping costs down will be a challenge, too. SAFs are three to four times the price of conventional aviation fuels.

Source Stuff

Manchester Airport first to get direct supply of sustainable jet fuel

Posted on October 31, 2021November 1, 2021 by dishanth

Manchester Airport is to become the first in the UK to have a direct supply of jet fuel made from household and commercial waste.

The sustainable fuel is blended with traditional jet fuel, with a 70% lower carbon footprint.

It will be delivered by existing pipelines from a refinery in Stanlow, Cheshire.

Operations director Rad Taylor said: “It’s really game-changing for the industry.”

He said: “It’s essentially about using non-recyclable waste, which would typically go into landfill, and using that to generate aviation fuel so it’s a real sustainable alternative.”

The airport, part of Manchester Airports Group, will work with Fulcrum BioEnergy Limited UK, which is developing a new refinery for sustainable aviation fuel.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This partnership is a huge leap forward for the long-term competitiveness of Britain’s aerospace sector, demonstrating how, by going green, industry can create jobs and help level-up across the UK.

“Cleaner aerospace and aviation is at the centre of our plans to end the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050.”

Neil Robinson, MAG’s CSR and airspace change director, said: “Today really is a landmark moment in our journey towards a decarbonised aviation sector.

“By working towards a future supply of SAF, direct to Manchester airport via existing pipelines from a local refinery, we’re making sustainable operations accessible for airlines based here.

“The introduction of SAF is testament to the innovation we have seen, and the collaboration between airports, airlines, the government and suppliers like Fulcrum to achieve real progress towards our goal of net zero for UK aviation by 2050.”

Fulcrum NorthPoint is set to produce around 100 million litres of SAF per year, which when blended 50/50 with traditional jet fuel, could fill the tanks of 1,200 Boeing 777-300s.

Source BBC

Climate change: Jet fuel from waste ‘dramatically lowers’ emissions

Posted on March 16, 2021 by dishanth

A new approach to making jet fuel from food waste has the potential to massively reduce carbon emissions from flying, scientists say.

Currently, most of the food scraps that are used for energy around the world are converted into methane gas.

But researchers in the US have found a way of turning this waste into a type of paraffin that works in jet engines.

The authors of the new study say the fuel cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 165% compared to fossil energy.

This figure comes from the reduction in carbon emitted from airplanes plus the emissions that are avoided when food waste is diverted from landfill.

The aviation industry worldwide is facing some difficult decisions about how to combine increased demand for flying with the need to rapidly cut emissions from the sector.

Researchers at the NREL lab in the US distilling the new fuel. Source NREL

In the US, airlines currently use around 21 billion gallons of jet fuel every year, with demand expected to double by the middle of the century. At the same time, they have committed to cutting CO2 by 50%.

With the development of battery-powered airplanes for long haul flights a distant prospect at this point, much attention has focussed on replacing existing jet fuel with a sustainable alternative.

In fact the UK government has just announced a £15m competition to encourage companies to develop jet fuel from household waste products.

Making paraffin from wet-waste

Current methods of making green jet fuel are based on a similar approach to making biodiesel for cars and heavy goods vehicles.

It normally requires the use of virgin vegetable oils as well as waste fats, oil and grease to make the synthetic fuel.

At present, it is more economical to convert these oils and wastes into diesel as opposed to jet fuel – which requires an extra step in the process, driving up costs.

Now, researchers say that they have developed an alternative method able to turn food waste, animal manure and waste water into a competitive jet hydrocarbon.

Much of this material, termed wet-waste, is at present is turned into methane gas. However, the authors found a way of interrupting this process so it produced volatile fatty acids (VFA) instead of CH4.

The researchers were then able to use a form of catalytic conversion to upgrade the VFA to two different forms of sustainable paraffin.

Food waste is a global problem and a major cause of global warming emissions. Source GETTY IMAGES

When the two forms were combined they were able to blend 70% of the mixture with regular jet fuel, while still meeting the extremely strict quality criteria that Federal authorities impose on aircraft fuels.

“There’s exciting jet fuels that rely on burning trash and dry waste but this actually works for those wastes that have high water content, which we normally dispose of in landfill,” said Derek Vardon, a senior research engineer at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the lead author on the study.

“Being able to show that you can take these volatile fatty acids, and that there’s a really elegant, simple way to turn it into jet fuel – that’s where I see the broader applicability of this one, and folks can continue to develop and refine it.”

The new fuel has a potentially significant impact on emissions as it not only limits the CO2 that comes from fossil sources used by the airlines, but it also gets rid of the methane that would bubble up from landfill if the waste food was just dumped.

Another major advantage is that this new fuel produces around 34% less soot than current standards. This is important because soot plays a key role in the formation of contrails from airplanes which adds a powerful warming effect to CO2 coming from the engines.

Emissions from flying are set to rise rapidly over the next two decades. Source ALEXANDER SHCHERBAK

“That’s where we see the most potential for this technology is that you’re preventing methane emissions, and dramatically lowering the carbon footprint of jet fuel. And you just can’t do that with fossil fuels without getting into things like offsets,” said Derek Vardon.

The research team say they are planning to scale up the production of the new fuel and aim to have test flights with Southwest Airlines in 2023.

Many environmental groups are sceptical about attempts to develop sustainable aviation fuels, believing that it amounts to green-washing. They argue that people should just fly less.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is not a silver bullet,” Derek Vardon says.

“So we do want to definitely emphasise that reduction is the most important and most significant change you can make. But there’s also pragmatism and need for aviation solutions now, so that’s where we want to strike a balance as we need a basket of measures, to really start getting our carbon footprint down in a variety of sectors, including aviation.”

The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Follow Matt on Twitter.

By Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

Source BBC

Zero-emissions aeroplanes that use AMMONIA as jet fuel rather than kerosene could take to the skies ‘within years’, British scientists claim

Posted on August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 by dishanth

Ammonia burns less easily than kerosene-based fuels and so could be safer
To be used to power an engine, ammonia needs to be burnt along with hydrogen
This can be released from ammonia itself by applying heat and a special catalyst
Heat exchangers and catalytic reactors could be added to a jet with few changes
The ammonia-based fuel would only produce water vapour and nitrogen waste

Zero-emissions aeroplanes could take to the skies ‘within years’ thanks to British scientists who are developing technology that will allow them to run on ammonia.

The collaboration between Oxford-based Reaction Engines and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council could see ammonia replace kerosene as jet fuel.

Unlike kerosene-based jet fuel, ammonia is less of a fire hazard and burns without releasing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.

Just like conventional jet fuel, ammonia could be stored in the wings of planes — but, unlike its kerosene-based counterpart, ammonia does not burn so easily on its own, making it far less of a fire hazard.

In order to be burned in a combustion chamber, ammonia needs to be mixed with hydrogen — which can be released from ammonia itself using heat and a catalyst.

The researchers are proposing, therefore, to use a heat exchanger to warm up the fuel en route to the engine, followed by a so-called ‘cracking reactor’ to split some of the ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen.

The fuel mix can then be ignited to drive the engine, with the only waste products being nitrogen, water vapour and perhaps some nitrogen oxides — although the latter can be removed from the exhaust using more ammonia.

‘The fuel could actually scrub its own emissions,’ Reaction Engines’ James Barth told MailOnline.

Given that the switch to ammonia would, at its minimum, only require minor additions to conventional jet engines, airlines could make use of the cleaner fuel without needing to completely replace their current plane fleets.

Ammonia does have a lower energy density than conventional jet fuel — meaning that aircraft powered by the novel fuel would have a slightly shorter range.

However, Dr Barth explained, ammonia fares well in comparison with other green aircraft solutions — including the more expensive fuel hydrogen and battery-power — and ammonia-powered planes would be perfectly suitable for short haul flights.

The switch may require an operational change, he added, but the team do not expect that the reduced range would prove to be a ‘showstopper’.

At present, ammonia is produced from natural gases like methane and atmospheric nitrogen — however, there is significant potential for the process to be made entirely renewable in the future by replacing the natural gas with electrolysed water.

At present, kerosene and ammonia are about the same price-per-tonne. While truly green production of ammonia will be more expensive, Dr Barth said that he expects to be offset by things like future carbon taxes.

‘We believe […] ammonia will be cost-competitive with synthetic fuels,’ he added.

Reaction Engines’ chief executive Mark Thomas told the Telegraph that the pollution reductions brought about by COVID-19-related movement restrictions could help bring about more demand for ‘green travel’.

‘We’ve been living under clean skies for the past few months,’ he added.

‘It is becoming clear that there is going to be a real technology drive.’

At present, the team are looking to design the heat changers and cracking reactor — and are seeking funding to develop a small-scale, ground-based demonstration to show that such an engine could be started and throttled up successfully.

‘There’s no reason why, [with] the right funding, we couldn’t have a small-scale demonstrator ready to test within a matter of years,’ Dr Barth said.

The news follows a recent drive for the UK to slash its carbon emissions in the interests of mitigating climate change — with the Government having promised to reach net zero emission by the year 2050.

By IAN RANDALL FOR MAILONLINE

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk