Sustainable aviation fuel Archives - Zureli

Search for any green Service

Find green products from around the world in one place

Window cleaning

Singapore Safety Glass

Delta to open innovation lab for low-carbon aviation tech

Posted on January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 by dishanth

Hosted at the company’s international headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, Delta Air Lines has stated that the ‘sustainable skies lab’ will host teams working to both scale and improve existing technologies and those working on “revolutionary” technologies which do not yet exist commercially. Research, design and testing will all be possible at the lab.

On existing technologies, the aim of the lab is to “connect, align, showcase” and accelerate work already underway at Delta by enabling co-working between teams on issues such as electrifying ground equipment and improving operational efficiencies.

Like many other airlines, Delta is using a mix of changes to operational procedures and aircraft upgrades to drive fuel efficiency, with 10 million fewer gallons of fuel used in 2022 than in 2021 by the firm. Older planes including its Boeing 777s have been retired to make way for next-gen aircraft including the A350 and the A300-900neo. Delta claims that these aircraft are 20% more fuel-efficient in terms of fuel used per passenger, per mile travelled.

For technologies that do not yet exist commercially, such as large electric passenger planes and hydrogen passenger planes, the lab will facilitate partnerships aimed at accelerating development. Delta is already partnering with some large aircraft manufacturers, such as Airbus, as well as emerging aircraft innovators like electric plane firm Joby. There will also be partnerships between the private sector and academia.

The strategy for the lab is being spearheaded by Delta’s chief sustainability officer Pam Fletcher. She is being supported by a new council including specialists from across the business, including those working in technical operations, flight operations, fuel, fleet management and customer service.

On collaborating for technology breakthroughs, Fletcher said: “With aviation being a hard-to-decarbonise industry, none of us can do this alone.

“We’re rolling out the welcome mat for disruptors of choice to take advantage of Delta’s global resources to accelerate our path to decarbonization and a fully sustainable travel experience.”

Target evolution

Delta committed to becoming a net-zero business by 2050 in 2021, through the UN-backed Race to Zero initiative. It subsequently had emissions targets for 2035 approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as aligned with ‘well below 2C’. These targets entail cutting direct emissions (Scope 1) plus indirect emissions from jet fuel by 45%, on an intensity basis, against a 2019 baseline.

Delta is hoping to achieve verification under the SBTi’s net-zero standard, which will require it to strengthen its targets with a commitment for a 90% reduction across all scopes by 2050. The SBTi is notably in the process of phasing out ‘well below 2C’ targets through to 2025, with 1.5C targets needed for net-zero standard verification.

Fletcher has stated that, to meet its climate targets, Delta will need to consider different low-carbon solutions across different timelines. A blog post published in September 2022 by Fletcher states that the company is improving fuel efficiency and electrifying ground operations now, while also cutting single-use plastics. In the medium term, its approach is to scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production in partnerships across the industry and with governments, to bring down costs. The, in the long-term, hydrogen and electric aircraft could be commercialised.

“We’re optimistic about early-stage companies pushing the boundaries with futurist thinking on aircraft, propulsion and more, and look forward to fostering collaboration with the industry, academia, and start-ups to accelerate the sustainable future of flight,” Fletcher’s blog states.

Airlines in the UK are, by and large, following the Government’s strategy on decarbonisation – the Jet Zero Strategy. The Strategy bets heavily on efficiencies and SAF. Last month, the UK Government provided its latest tranche of funding for SAF developers, focusing on energy-from-waste and fuels created from carbon captured at industrial plants.

Source edie

British Airways moves closer to sustainable fuel

Posted on November 17, 2022 by dishanth

To move this dream forward, British Airways, LanzaJet and Nova Pangaea Technologies have kicked their partnership into high gear.

Together, these companies are overseeing Project Speedbird, first developed in 2021, which seeks to transform wood and agricultural waste derived from sustainable sources and, at its facility, would turn it into 102 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel every year.

Significant cut in emissions

If everything goes according to plan, fuel produced at the facility would reduce CO2 emissions by 230,000 tonnes a year (the equivalent of 26,000 domestic British Airways flights).

The project has also been helped by a British Government Department for Transport’s (DfT) Advanced Fuels Fund grant after it was granted £500,000 to keep the project moving forward. The move to support the project is in keeping with the DfT’s Jet Zero strategy which hopes to see sustainable aviation fuel come into common use by 2025.

British Airways Director of Sustainability Carrie Harris made the following comments on the measure: “Project Speedbird is another great step towards our mission to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner and achieve our target of using SAF for 10% of our fuel by 2030. SAF is in high demand but in short supply across the globe and so it is essential that we scale up its production as quickly as possible.”

In order to see this project through, British Airways is working with two other companies. Nova Pangea Technologies, is an industry leader in converting bio waste into bioethanol and biochar. Once this process is completed, LanzaJet then converts the bioethanol to sustainable aviation fuel.

Nova Pangea Technologies CEO Sarah Ellerby noted the help received from such an important partner as British Airways, saying, “The support from British Airways is a vote of huge confidence in our technology and will accelerate its commercialization.”

Source Sustainability

Blockchain-verified sustainable aviation fuel scheme launched by Shell, Amex and Accenture

Posted on June 20, 2022 by dishanth

Called Avelia, the scheme is offering around one million gallons of SAF in the first instance, which its co-founders claim makes it the largest of its kind to date. This amount of fuel could cover 15,000 individual business traveller flights from London to New York, the co-founders state.

There are many business flight schemes through which customers can either offset the emissions related to their tickets or purchase SAF, but this is believed to be the first of its scale to utilise blockchain.

Business customers will be able to book flights using the American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) platform and request verification that SAF, equivalent to that which would have been used if their flights had directly been powered with the maximum blend of 50%, has been produced and supplied. Verification will be provided in the form of blockchain-generated tokens, which have a tamper-proof audit trail.

Shell will produce the SAF while Accenture is contributing its IT services and partnering with the Energy Web Foundation to use its existing blockchain platform, powered by Microsoft’s Azure.

Shell currently manufactures SAF using agricultural wastes in Rotterdam, and at a separate facility fed by agricultural wastes and virgin plant feedstocks in Singapore. It is aiming to produce at least two million tonnes of SAFs annually from 2025 and to continue expanding production through to the 2030s, eyeing new production and blending facility locations in markets including the UK to meet these aims.

Shell claims that its SAF can reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80% when compared with traditional jet fuel, if it is used neat. Current international regulations limit the maximum proportion of SAF in blends to 50%, however. Barriers to using neat SAF include the need for the development of suitable engines and the need to scale up SAF production while avoiding unintended negative consequences, such as poor land-use practices for feedstock crops. SAF currently costs between two and eight times as much as conventional jet fuel, depending on national markets and feedstocks, as it is yet to benefit from the same ‘economies of scale’ benefits as kerosene.

“SAF is a key enabler of decarbonisation in the aviation industry, and it is available today- however, it is currently scarce and costs more than conventional jet fuel,” said Shell Aviation’s president Jan Toschka. “Avelia will help trigger demand for SAF at scale, providing confidence to suppliers like us to further increase investment in production, and in turn helping to lower the price point for these fuels.”

Shell, Accenture, and Amex GBT will notably use the Avelia platform for all of their own business flights.

SAF – the state of play

SAF has proven to be a popular approach to decarbonisation for the aviation industry, which is responsible for 3% of annual global emissions and which – pandemic aside – had been growing rapidly in terms of passenger numbers and emissions for a decade.

It is doubtless so popular because using blends of 50% is a ‘drop-in’ solution, requiring no changes to aircraft – as would be necessary for electrification or the use of hydrogen. The UK’s industry body for sustainability in aviation is planning to prioritise SAF use, efficiencies and offsetting to reach net-zero, and this approach has influenced national policymaking on the issue.

This approach is against the recommendation of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC). The CCC’s 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.

Instead, the Government is planning to deliver a rapid scaling of SAF production. Ministers have asked the industry to collaborate to bring at least three commercial SAF production plants online in the UK by 2025. The Government has partnered with LanzaTech, Velocys and Philipps 66 to help deliver this ambition, through its Jet Zero Council.

To ensure adequate demand for these SAFs, the Government is 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. The EU is considering a similar mandate.

Source Edie

Singapore airlines to launch sustainable aviation fuel credits

Posted on June 15, 2022June 15, 2022 by dishanth

Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that it would launch the sale of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credits in July 2022. The move is part of a pilot initiative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and global investment company Temasek to advance the use of SAF in Singapore.

he credits will be available for purchase to corporate customers and individual passengers as well as air freight forwarders. On offer will be a total of 1,000 SAF credits, corresponding to 1,000 tonnes of neat sustainable fuel uplifted from Singapore Changi Airport, to be blended with conventional jet fuel.

Every credit purchased is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 tonnes, for a total of 2,500. Now, this might be a mere fraction of the emissions that the regular fuel still needed – both for regulatory reasons and a lack of supply – is responsible for. However, aviation isn’t going anywhere, neither is climate change, and the transition toward sustainable fuels has to start somewhere. Ms Lee Wen Fen, Senior Vice President Corporate Planning, Singapore Airlines, said,

“As we progress with the SAF pilot in Singapore, we can now offer more opportunities for our corporate customers and travellers to mitigate their carbon emissions using SAF credits, which are registered and accounted for within the RSB Book & Claim System. This will help to accelerate and scale up the collective adoption of SAF, reinforcing our commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Singapore is hoping to become a regional SAF hub. Photo: Singapore Airlines

By purchasing SAF credits, customers will help stimulate the demand for SAF, which in turn will increase supply. As it becomes more available, even though they are by no means a perfect solution, sustainable fuels will begin to make more of a dent in aviation’s carbon footprint.

Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint in the works

Singapore has its sights set on becoming a South East Asia SAF hub. As part of its Green Plan 2030, Changi has ambitions to become one of the early movers in the region, thus far lagging behind the US and Europe when it comes to production and uptake. Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General, CAAS, stated,

“The creation of a trusted and vibrant marketplace for the sale and purchase of SAF credits in Singapore will help support the adoption of SAF which is essential for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector and a key element of the Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint which CAAS is developing.”

Singapore Changi Airport has developed a ‘green plan’ for the remainder of the decade. Photo: Getty Images

Combining offsets and SAF

From Q4, all of SIA’s customers will be able to purchase a mix of SAF credits and carbon offsets as part of the SIA Group Voluntary Carbon Offset Programme, through a partnership with Climate Impact X, a global marketplace and exchange for high-quality carbon credits. Mr Mikkel Larsen, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Impact X, commented,

“SAF credits can help to spur adoption by enabling competitive price discovery, and channelling finance towards projects that can drive the use of sustainable fuels at the scale necessary to support decarbonisation in the aviation sector. Through CIX’s ongoing efforts to curate verified projects for our platforms, we aim to increase access to quality carbon credits worldwide and drive environmental impact at scale.”

Source Simple Flying

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

Singapore exploring feasibility of piloted eVTOL trial as it eyes the growing global market

Posted on February 15, 2022 by dishanth

SINGAPORE is exploring the feasibility of a piloted electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) trial, as it eyes a slice of the growing global market for these vehicles, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday (Feb 14).

This comes as Singapore is looking to grow the advanced air mobility community at Seletar Aerospace Park, Heng said during the opening ceremony of the Singapore Airshow 2022 held at Marina Bay Sands.

The plan is to create an “enabling ecosystem” for a wide range of activities including research and development, commercialisation, manufacturing and eventually, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), he said.

“To give a boost to this nascent industry, we are exploring the feasibility of the first piloted eVTOL trial in Singapore, possibly along the Greater Southern Waterfront,” Heng said.

He added that the government will be working closely with industry partners such as Volocopter and Skyports to develop use cases and operating frameworks.

Meanwhile, plans are also afoot to grow Seletar Aerospace Park into a leading aerospace industrial park in the region.

Heng said the government expects to complete construction of aeroSpace Three at the park.

He noted that it will provide aerospace companies with “plug and play” smart factory solutions for advanced aerospace manufacturing and MRO activities, adding that there is “good demand” for such customisable spaces.

These are part of Singapore’s plans to grow the aviation and aerospace sectors, Heng said, as he outlined Singapore’s vision in both the immediate and long term.

At the moment, the government’s focus is to invest in new capabilities and in its workers as it strengthens the path to recovery, he said, adding that this involves wage support as well as training programmes to upskill workers.

“In the coming decade, the flight path will be defined by digitalisation and sustainability. Hence, we must redouble efforts to make these major transitions and unlock new possibilities,” Heng said.

He noted that airports, airlines and the global aerospace industry are seeking to leverage digitalisation to transform their operations and Singapore is no different.

In the area of sustainability, Singapore is now piloting the use of sustainable aviation fuels at Changi Airport, while Finnish oil refinery Neste is expanding its presence in Singapore to produce renewable jet fuel at a commercial scale.

Touching on the next 20 years and beyond, Heng said: “New breakthroughs will reshape aviation and aerospace. We must invest in disruptive innovation today, to be at the forefront of change.”

Besides eVOTL, Heng said another possible gamechanger is autonomous aircraft.

For example, autonomous vehicles can be adopted for aviation, initially to guide and control aircraft and eventually to transport cargo and people autonomously, Heng suggested.

With the Airshow being the largest trade and exhibition show to be held in Singapore since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic 2 years ago, Heng said the event underlines the Republic’s belief in the long-term prospects of the aviation and aerospace sectors.

It also reflects Singapore’s commitment to safely reopen its economy and borders to the rest of the world.

Source Business Times

Virgin Atlantic to receive SAF delivery at London Heathrow

Posted on February 11, 2022 by dishanth

Virgin Atlantic is one step closer to its sustainable fuel target, thanks to an agreement with Neste Corp. to supply 2.5 million liters (660,430 gallons) of neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will be delivered in the first half of 2022 to London Heathrow.

The agreement forms part of a wider collaboration between Virgin Atlantic and Neste, a leading provider of SAF, to increase the availability and use of SAF in the U.K.

Virgin Atlantic and Neste are working with ExxonMobil on this delivery of SAF into the U.K. ExxonMobil is already Virgin Atlantic’s largest fuel supplier at London Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic has had a track record as a sustainability leader for more than a decade and is committed to achieving net zero by 2050. Right now, the whole of its fleet is twin-engine aircraft—and 70 percent of those are next generation, making it one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the skies. This follows a multibillion-dollar fleet renewal program that has already delivered a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions between 2007 and 2019.

The agreement with Neste represents the first commercial supply of SAF for Virgin Atlantic, following its long-standing commitment to SAF and operation of the first commercial aircraft to use sustainable fuels in 2008.

“After fleet renewal, SAF represents the greatest opportunity to decarbonize aviation in the short to medium term,” said Holly Boyd-Boland, vice president of corporate development for Virgin Atlantic. “This supply is the beginning of commercial SAF at scale for Virgin Atlantic and whilst only enough to operate 140 flights between London and New York, it’s a starting point. To meet our 10 percent SAF target in 2030 we need to deliver this volume more than 70 times over, requiring cross industry and government action to support commercialization of SAF at scale, particularly in the U.K. We will continue to work closely with Neste and ExxonMobil, as well as wider industry partners, to find innovative solutions to achieve this goal.”

Source Bio Based Diesel

Government announces biofuel mandate for transport sector

Posted on December 16, 2021 by dishanth

The Government has announced it will mandate the use of biofuels for cars, trucks, trains and ships to reduce emissions in the transport sector.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced on Wednesday a Sustainable Biofuels Mandate will take effect from April 1, 2023.

“Biofuels offer a practical, low-emissions solution to reduce New Zealand’s transport sector emissions and will be scaled up over time resulting in greater emissions reductions from transport fuels,” Woods said.

Fuel wholesalers – those who first import or refine fuels – must cut their total greenhouse gas emissions for transport fuels they sell by 1.2 per cent in 2023, then 2.4 per cent in 2024, and then 3.5 per cent in 2025, by replacing part of their supply with biofuels.

Biofuels will offer a practical, low-emissions solution to reduce New Zealand’s transport sector emissions and will be scaled up over time. (File photo)

“Land transport accounts for almost half of all of our national carbon dioxide emissions and we need to take action to start to mitigate transport’s impact on climate change,” Woods said.

She predicted the mandate would prevent around one million tonnes of emissions over the next three years.

“Biofuels mandates are common overseas with more than 60 jurisdictions having them; we had one on the cards more than a decade ago but it was repealed before it came into effect,” Woods said.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said that would reduce emissions from the transport sector emissions while the rest of the Clean Car Package “revs up”. This includes rebates for electric vehicles, more chargers along state highways, and a push to import more climate-friendly cars.

“We need to transition to low-emission vehicles, and biofuels will help reduce emissions while we make that transition,” he said. “Biofuels have the potential to boost economic recovery through encouraging a local industry and creating jobs.”

A separate mandate for aviation will be announced in 2022. (File photo) RICKY WILSON/STUFF

A separate mandate for aviation fuel would be developed next year; The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was working with Air New Zealand on a study to determine the potential for producing sustainable aviation fuel domestically.

Statistics NZ data shows domestic aviation greenhouse emissions in 2018 were up 12 per cent from 2017, and up 17.7 percent from 1990. They made up 3.2 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions in 2018.

However, there are concerns the mandate will hike the price of fuel. An MBIE report from June says: “A biofuels mandate will, however, increase fuel prices as biofuels cost more to produce.”

“If the Sustainable Biofuels Mandate is implemented as proposed, in 2025 it would result in a 0.2 per cent (0.4 cents per litre) increase in baseline petrol prices, a 5.8 percent (7.1 cents per litre) increase in baseline diesel prices.”

Minister Woods has been approached for comment.

Source Stuff

Rolls-Royce launches pathway to power net zero economy

Posted on June 17, 2021 by dishanth

Focused on producing the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonise three critical areas of the global economy and capture the economic opportunity of the transition to net zero
New products compatible with net zero by 2030, whole business compatible by 2050
By 2023, all in-production civil aero engines to be proven compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuels, contributing to UN Race to Zero breakthrough goal for sustainable aviation
Science-based target to reduce lifetime emissions of new sold products from Power Systems by 35% by 2030; new generation Series 2000, 4000 engines to be certified for sustainable fuel by 2023
Increasing proportion of gross R&D spent on lower carbon and net zero technologies to 75% by 2025 to decarbonise transport, energy and the built environment

Accelerating the race to a zero carbon economy

We are today setting out our near-term actions to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest. Our pathway shows how we will focus our technological capabilities to play a leading role in enabling significant elements of the global economy to get to net zero carbon by 2050, including aviation, shipping, and power generation. This includes the development of new technologies, enabling an accelerated take-up of sustainable fuels and driving step-change improvements in efficiency. One year on from joining the UN Race to Zero campaign, we are announcing plans to make all our new products compatible with net zero by 2030, and all our products in operation compatible by 2050.

These products power some of the most carbon intensive parts of the economy. We are also introducing short-term targets – linked to executive remuneration – to accelerate the take-up of sustainable fuels, which have a key role to play in the decarbonisation of some of our markets, especially long-haul aviation. We are already well advanced with net zero and zero carbon technologies across our Power Systems portfolio and as a result have sufficiently reliable data to be able to define a science-based interim target to reduce by 35% the lifetime emissions of new products sold by the business by 2030.

Driving system change to meet Paris Agreement climate goals

There is no single solution to net zero and so we are innovating across multiple areas simultaneously. However, the pace and prioritisation of technological solutions, as well as global consistency and collaboration in policy, will also be key to success. Consequently, we are expanding our collaboration with partners, industry leaders and governments across the three critical systems in which we operate – transport, energy and the built environment – to accelerate progress. These hard to abate sectors are all identified by the UN Race to Zero as requiring technological breakthroughs in order to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said: “At Rolls-Royce, we believe in the positive, transforming potential of technology. We pioneer power that is central to the successful functioning of the modern world. To combat the climate crisis, that power must be made compatible with net zero carbon emissions. This is a societal imperative as well as one of the greatest commercial and technological opportunities of our time. Our products and services are used in aviation, shipping and energy generation, where demand for power is increasing as the world’s population grows, becomes increasingly urbanised, more affluent and requires more electricity. These sectors are also among those where achieving net zero carbon is hardest. As a result, our innovative technology has a fundamental role to play in enabling and even accelerating, the overall global transition to a net zero carbon future. We believe that as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and looks to build back better, global economic growth can be compatible with a net zero carbon future and that Rolls-Royce can help make that happen.”

Nigel Topping, UN High Level Champion for COP26, added: “Winning the race to a zero emission economy by 2050 at the latest requires radical collaboration and technology breakthroughs across energy, transport and the built environment – critical parts of the economy that are also among the hardest to decarbonise. By organising its industrial technology capabilities to deliver the system change society needs, Rolls-Royce is putting itself at the forefront of the defining economic opportunity of our time; one that customers want to buy, investors want to back, and the brightest talent want to apply their skills to.”

Pioneering the innovations that can enable the transition

We have many years of experience in pioneering solutions to some of society’s toughest technological challenges and, increasingly, we have focused that effort on the creation of sustainable power. We already make the world’s most efficient large civil aero-engine in service today, the Trent XWB, and its successor, UltraFan®, will be 25% more efficient than first generation Trent engines, significantly improving the economics of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). In addition, we have built a microgrid business and designed a small modular reactor (SMR) power plant with the potential to transform how we power cities or industrial processes. We are investing in battery storage technology, demonstrating fuel cells and building a leading position in all-electric and hybrid-electric flight. Next month our Spirit of Innovation all-electric plane will take to the sky as it prepares to break the world all-electric flight speed record. Collectively and individually, these technologies represent the extensive expertise Rolls-Royce has to enable a net zero world.

Pivoting our R&D investment to lower and net zero carbon solutions

In line with the commitments we have made under the UN Race to Zero campaign, we are aligning our business model to the Paris Climate Agreement goals and setting out the pathway that will take us to net zero. We are already boosting our research and development (R&D) expenditure to pivot towards lower and net zero carbon technologies, moving from approximately 50% of our gross R&D spend today to at least 75% by 2025.

Our decarbonisation strategy

Our strategy has three interconnected pillars:

1. Decarbonising our operations: We will eliminate emissions from our own operations (scope 1 & 2) by 2030^*. Some facilities will achieve this target sooner, such as our production site at Bristol, UK, which is set to be the first Rolls-Royce facility to achieve net zero carbon status, in 2022.

2. Decarbonising complex, critical systems by enabling our products to be used in a way that is compatible with net zero and pioneering new breakthrough technologies that can accelerate the global transition to net zero. A wholesale transformation of the systems that make up the backbone of our global economy is required to achieve net zero and we can help accelerate that transition firstly by further advancing the efficiency of our engine portfolio through next generation technologies, to improve the economics of sustainable fuels; and secondly by introducing new low or zero emission products, including fuel cells, microgrids, hybrid-electric and all-electric technologies. To help accelerate the take-up of SAFs, we will make all our civil aero-engines in production compatible with 100% SAF, through testing, by 2023. This means two thirds^** of our current fleet of Trent large jet engines and three fifths of our business jet engines will be SAF-ready within three years and aligns with the UN Race to Zero breakthrough goal of 10% of all the fuel used in aviation being SAF by 2030. The current generation of SAFs reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up 70% but this is assumed to increase to 100% as production pathways for synthetically derived fuels mature. We will work with our customers in the armed forces to achieve the same goal for the Rolls-Royce engines they use and, as the use of SAFs increases, we will ensure that our future combat systems are compatible with net zero carbon. By 2023, we also intend to certify for use with sustainable fuels, the new generation of our mtu Series 2000 and Series 4000 engines. These represent the majority of the reciprocating engines we manufacture and are used across a range of applications from power generation to rail and shipping. Achieving all our 2023 targets now forms part of our executive remuneration policy.

3. Actively advocating for the necessary enabling environment and policy support to achieve this ambition.

Among our technological innovations:

In all-electric aviation, we are moving from demonstrators to commercial deals, such as with the UK’s Vertical Aerospace in the urban air mobility market, and with Italian airframer Tecnam and Norwegian airline Wideroe in the all-electric commuter aircraft. We are also currently testing the most powerful hybrid-electric propulsion system in aerospace and continuing to progress with our UltraFan aero engine, which will be 25% more efficient than the first generation Trent engines and improve the economics of SAFs. We are already exploring the use of SAFs in defence applications, including as part of our involvement in the Tempest programme in the UK.
We are advancing and selling microgrids, complete with our own battery storage solutions, to help expand the use of renewable energy across remote communities and our energy-intensive digital economy. We are also exploring additional functionality through the introduction of fuel cells to provide clean power for industrial vehicles and processes.
We are testing hydrogen fuel cell modules at our Power Systems facility in Germany and plan to have integrated 2MW of hydrogen fuel cells into operational microgrid demonstrators by 2023.
Our SMR consortium is set to make a significant contribution to net zero through its innovative approach to power generation, providing a generational change in the cost of nuclear energy. At 470MW, each SMR could help decarbonise a city of a million homes. With UK Government assistance and third party investment, the programme is now entering a new phase leading to design approval and power on the grid at the end of the decade.

Pioneering sustainable, net zero power sits at the heart of our strategy, future innovation and growth agenda. Our decarbonisation strategy will ensure that Rolls-Royce is not only compatible with, but actively enabling, a net zero future.

For an executive summary of our net zero report visit https://www.rolls-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/others/rr-net-zero-exec-summary.pdf, and for the full pathway including the steps we are taking to lead the transition to net zero carbon visit https://www.rolls-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/others/rr-net-zero-full-report.pdf. We are committed to playing our part in the global journey to net zero. Undoubtedly, the very nature of this transition will mean that there may be general and sector specific circumstances which will influence the output from our roadmap. These are set out on page 32 of the full report. We also recognise that we must be prepared and able to adjust our decarbonisation ambitions in the context of the changing landscape.

^*Our current scope 1 & 2 target excludes product testing and development. Currently, only a 50% blend with traditional fuels is approved for use in commercial aviation. We are playing an active role in advocating for this to rise to 100%. As an interim measure we are committing to 10% of the fuel we use in testing and development activities being SAF by 2023.

^**Based on in-service fleet as of end December 2019; Based on the in-service fleet as of end December 2020, over 80% of our Trent engine fleet would be SAF-ready by 2023, but usage in 2020 was obviously impacted by the pandemic.

https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/net-zero.aspx

Source Rolls Royce