Continued global economic growth has predictably brought about a rise in cargo and passenger flights. What’s good for the airline industry, however, may be less than ideal for the environment. More air travel means a greater demand for aviation fuel, pushing a sector already known for its high carbon emissions to even more unsustainable levels.
At a time of greater climate consciousness and social activism surrounding environmental issues, the airline industry’s increasing contribution to climate change sticks out like a sore thumb.
As of 2022, aviation is responsible for 2% of CO2 emissions globally — a figure that in recent decades has grown faster than other forms of transport such as cars, trains, and ships. With an industry target of net zero emissions set for 2050, solutions need to be found quickly to eliminate the carbon footprint associated with air travel. Countries including the US, UK, and EU have lent their support to programs designed to boost sustainable aviation fuel alternatives.
Here we discuss a few innovations that have shown particular promise, and are beginning to take root within an industry that is desperate for good news on the sustainability front.
New ways to fly
One of the most exciting developments in this field has been a new type of plant, dubbed “CoverCress”. Considered a weed in its native form, field pennycress, the plant has since been re-engineered genetically and bred extensively into its current incarnation, renamed CoverCress.
In 2022, Frontiers in Energy Research released a study on CoverCress showing the industrial potential of this wonder weed. The paper stated that a renewable jet fuel, as well as diesel and biodiesel can be produced by utilizing the oil derived from CoverCress. In effect, this has the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63% when compared with petroleum-based aviation fuel, and by 85% compared with standard biodiesel.
Overall, the development and usage of sustainable aviation fuels are trending in a very promising direction. More flights are now seeing the use of sustainable aviation fuels, with close to 500,000 flights using this method in 2023 compared to a mere 500 back in 2016. Around 300 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel were produced in 2022; this number will increase to 5 billion liters by 2025.
Other types of innovation are helping to solve the emissions problem as well. Prototype tests of hydrogen-powered aircraft have shown encouraging results. Yet challenges remain, as aircraft that use hydrogen as a primary energy source need a carefully designed and constructed fuel storage system.
Recent years of development have yielded progress in several related areas, including hydrogen produced from renewable sources, state-of-the-art storage systems, and more effective propulsion equipment. A new aviation complex in France, currently being built by Airbus and ArianeGroup, will be the world’s first airport with a liquid hydrogen refueling facility.
Sustainability and the future of flight
If all goes well, sustainable aviation fuels can potentially achieve 65% of the CO2 emissions reductions necessary to put the global aviation industry at net-zero carbon by 2050. Momentum in this direction continues to build, as over 85 producers of sustainable aviation fuels across 30 different countries have already begun work on over 130 renewable fuel projects.
The advent of CoverCress, with its outstanding ability to reduce CO2, has re-ignited hope of real environmental progress and carbon-neutral growth within the aviation industry. Inspired by CoverCress and other innovations, governments around the world are beginning to enforce the use of sustainable aviation fuels while also boosting support for their production.
For example, back in 2022, the US Inflation Reduction Act introduced a total of $3.3 billion in tax credits and a specialized grant program to grow the sustainable aviation fuel economy. In early 2023, the European Council and Parliament began to mandate minimum levels of sustainable fuel within all synthetically produced aviation fuel. The UK government is also investing in sustainable fuel projects, while Sweden is taking the additional step of funneling public money into research toward electric airplanes. In Asia, Japan requires that up to 10% of aviation fuel must be sustainably produced by the end of this decade; and China is now also beginning to set goals along similar lines.
The sky’s the limit
By generating over 13% of all emissions from global transportation, commercial aviation now has a lot of cleaning up to do. The heavy task of slowing down climate change, which starts with reducing the carbon footprint of aviation and other industries, will require a coordinated push from the public and private sectors.
That push is well underway, thanks to industry-led innovation alongside concerted regulatory guidance. Net zero carbon emissions for aviation is not yet within reach — but it is increasingly within view, thanks to breakthroughs in fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, chemistry, and botany. With rigorous development underway to maximize the use of cleaner energy sources, we are closer than ever to a world of net zero emissions. That goal will be hard to hit, but success would mean clearing the runway for a long and bright future of ever greater achievements.
