Depleting the ozone layer, melting of ice from glaciers in the Arctic and Atlantic regions, rising levels of CO2 have jolted mankind back to reality. Every country has become extra cautious concerning the environment and the hazardous impact of pollution on the health and well-being of life on earth. It is already high time and red flags are raised every year with floods, droughts, and excessive heat taking its toll on human life. If the pollution is not kept in check, very soon, mankind will perish. Understanding these primary school basics, every government of every nation is playing its part to keep the pollution under check.
Aviation – A contributing factor in pollution
Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. Airplanes emit gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen oxides carbon monoxide when mixed with oxygen in the air becomes CO 2 leaving a significant carbon footprint. As per the data released by the Air Transport action group, flights produced 915 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019, while humans produced over 43 billion tonnes of CO2. Thus, we can see aviation is responsible for 12 percent of CO2 emissions from all transport sources, compared to 74 percent from road transport.
According to IATA, the aviation sector produces 900 million tons of CO2 per year, if nothing is done to keep it in check by 2050 it will rise to 1.8 billion tons, meaning over 30 years, 21.2 billion tons of CO2 would be released into the atmosphere. Reducing this level to gradually achieve net-zero emissions in 2050 poses an enormous technological challenge that the IATA estimates will cost companies around USD 1.55 trillion between 2020 and 2050.
Naturally, the responsibility to keep this in check fell on the shoulders of aircraft manufacturers, engine manufacturers, OEMs, MROs, and aerospace companies of the world, and true to their word, all the aircraft manufacturers, airlines, aerospace companies, and engine makers came together at the 77th Annual General Meeting of IATA and approved a resolution for the global air transport industry to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This commitment will align with the Paris Agreement goal for global warming not to exceed 1.5°C.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said, “The world’s airlines have taken a momentous decision to ensure that flying is sustainable. The post-COVID-19 re-connect will be on a clear path towards net zero. That will ensure the freedom of future generations to sustainably explore, learn, trade, build markets, appreciate cultures, and connect with people the world over. With the collective efforts of the entire value chain and supportive government policies, aviation will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Net-zero will be reached through a combination of climate action initiatives. This includes supporting new aircraft technologies, such as hydrogen and electric, as well as improvements in operational efficiency and infrastructure. The acceleration of the production and uptake of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to play a major role in reducing the climate impact of aviation. Furthermore, any outstanding emissions would be captured using carbon removal measures.
Boeing & Airbus – en route to sustainable aviation
Airbus and Boeing have pledged that their fleets will be able to fly 100 percent on SAF by 2030 and they have already initiated steps to achieve this goal.
At the recently concluded Singapore Air Show 2022, Airbus signed a partnership agreement with CFM International to collaborate on a hydrogen demonstration program that will take flight around the middle of this decade. The program’s objective is to ground and flight test a direct combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen, in preparation for entry-into-service of a zero-emission aircraft by 2035. The demonstration will use an A380 flying testbed equipped with liquid hydrogen tanks prepared at Airbus facilities in France and Germany.
Gaël Méheust, president & CEO of CFM said, “Hydrogen combustion capability is one of the foundational technologies we are developing and maturing as part of the CFM RISE Program. Bringing together the collective capabilities and experience of CFM, our parent companies, and Airbus, we do have the dream team in place to successfully demonstrate a hydrogen propulsion system.”
The ZEROe demonstrator by Airbus is a giant leap forward to bring zero-emission aviation to reality. It will carry four liquid hydrogen tanks in a caudal position, as well as a hydrogen combustion engine mounted along the rear fuselage. The liquid hydrogen distribution system will feed into a conditioning system in which the liquid hydrogen will transform into its gaseous form before it is introduced into the engine where it is combusted for propulsion. Airbus claims this to be the first step towards the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft.
Boeing’s priority is developing a plane that can fly on 100 percent SAF, such as biofuels, by 2030. They are also working on hydrogen propulsion. Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program accelerates innovation by taking promising technologies out of the lab and testing them in the air to solve real-world challenges for airlines, passengers, and the environment. Eight airplanes have served as flying testbeds for the program since it began in 2012.
Projects include technologies that reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise and incorporate more sustainable materials. Collaboration with industry partners is foundational to the ecoDemonstrator program to support the constant evolution of new ideas and advanced aviation. Boeing is partnering with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines on the 2021 program—using one of the airline’s new 737-9s to test about 20 projects that can make aviation safer and more sustainable.
Airline contribution
Multiple airline companies have announced programs to try to become more sustainable in the coming years. Delta Air Lines recently committed USD1 billion to become carbon neutral by 2030. JetBlue pledged to get there by 2040, and United Airlines by 2050.
In April 2019, Etihad Airways became the first major airline to complete a long-haul flight without any single-use plastic on board after revealing that it had been using some 27 million single-use plastic coffee cup lids per year.
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “There is a growing concern globally about the overuse of plastics which can take thousands of years to decompose. We discovered we could remove 27 million single-use plastic lids from our inflight service a year and, as a leading airline, it’s our responsibility to act on this, to challenge industry standards and work with suppliers who provide lower impact alternatives.”
Ryanair has vowed to go entirely plastic-free by 2023, also making the switch to biodegradable cutlery and cups. Other ways of cutting down CO2 emissions include efforts to reduce weight. British Airways, for example, is installing lighter seats on aircraft, and introducing lighter catering trolleys.
Some of the sustainability initiatives currently being carried out by SAS include new, fuel-efficient aircraft with reduced emissions; weight reductions to existing aircraft to reduce fuel consumption; major initiatives to improve access to high-quality biofuel; and a partnership with Airbus to develop electric and hybrid aircraft. Portuguese charter carrier Hi Fly carried out the world’s first single-use plastic-free flights in 2019. The eco-alternatives used were plant-based catering disposables made from renewable, lower carbon or recycled materials, that can be composted along with food waste, as well as paper, card, bamboo, chinaware, glass, and stainless steel.
Singapore Airlines is also stepping up its inflight sustainability efforts by further reducing food wastage on board, cutting back on the use of plastics for inflight items, and increasing the use of sustainable ingredients in inflight meals.
Recently India’s largest airline IndiGo took delivery of the first aircraft from Airbus that operated on a blend of sustainable aviation fuel and normal fuel as a part of its journey towards sustainable aviation.
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has become the first passenger airline in the world to use innovative surface technology to significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions of one of its existing fleets, thereby improving both economy and ecology. Lufthansa Technik will be providing the AeroSHARK equipment for 12 Boeing 777. These aircraft will be fitted with riblet films developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and BASF. The frictional resistance is greatly reduced by this modification thereby making the sub-fleet more than one percent more fuel-efficient and lower in emissions.
Johannes Bussmann, Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa Technik said, “Due to the long lifecycles in our industry, we cannot only rely on new aircraft generations to reduce our environmental footprint but also need to specifically optimize existing fleets towards sustainability. AeroSHARK makes a significant contribution to this, and I am very pleased that SWISS is leading the way.”
Continuously upgrading fleets to more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft is also a big step. Hence many operators are retiring their older widebody aircraft to replace them with younger, innovative aircraft for fleet modernization.
Engine MROs
Honeywell announced its first hybrid-electric turbogenerator, which will be installed on the first generation of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. It is estimated that the generator will decrease carbon emissions between 30 and 50 percent compared to the HTS900 engine. This hybrid engine will contribute to a quieter, safer, and cleaner future transportation.
Stephane Fymat, vice president and general manager for Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility at Honeywell Aerospace. “Our turbogenerators provide a safe, lightweight package to serve these burgeoning segments, and we’re designing our solutions to meet the unique needs of customers developing aerial vehicles of the future.”
MTU Maintenance has partnered with JetBlue Airways for the testing and data-gathering on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with the airline’s V2500 engines following on from shop visits in Hannover, Germany. Conducted in a controlled ground environment, test runs will initially be performed with a 10 percent SAF fuel blend and can be expanded to up to 50 percent.
“MTU Maintenance is the first MRO provider worldwide to be offering test runs with SAF,” says Michael Schreyögg, Chief Program Officer, MTU Aero Engines. “We are excited to be doing our part in reducing carbon dioxide emissions at our sites and providing more sustainable MRO solutions for customers across the lifecycle. MTU is committed to the Paris Climate Agreement and therefore aiming to become carbon neutral in operations across our German production facilities.”
Achieving net-zero emissions will be a huge challenge. The aviation industry must progressively reduce its emissions while accommodating the growing demand of a world that is eager to fly. To be able to serve the needs of the ten billion people expected to fly in 2050, at least 1.8 gigatons of carbon must be abated in that year. Moreover, the net-zero commitment implies that a cumulative total of 21.2 gigatons of carbon will be abated between now and 2050.
