Gallery: Aviation Rolls Out Latest Sustainability Initiatives

For the first time, SAF has been certified under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), making use of the two ICAO-approved sustainability certification schemes developed for this purpose. Nine batches of SAFs, totaling 1,542 tons, were certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Association and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterial. They were produced in China, the Netherlands, and the US by ECOCHEM, Neste and WorldEnergy, respectively. The fuels were produced from waste materials and typically have 75% to 84% lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared to conventional aviation fuels. 
 

Wichita, Kansas-based The AirCraft Company displayed its 30-seat, hybrid-electric SJ30Y Pangea at this year’s Paris Air Show. The Pangea is expected to achieve up to 90% lower costs than a regional jet and will be wheelchair-accessible. Entry into service is planned for 2029.
 

Asian Aerospace and AURA AERO, French aircraft manufacturer and pioneer in low-carbon aviation, signed a Letter of Intent for three ERA aircraft, the electric-thrust 19-seater regional aircraft at the Paris Air Show. 

Asian Aerospace—a non-scheduled airline based in the Philippines that operates domestic and regional flights from Manila, Cebu and Davao—said the hybrid-electric aircraft ERA will link the many islands in the Philippine region, enabling tour operators to reduce their environmental footprint while enhancing their offer. As it enters into service, ERA will enable Asian Aerospace to decarbonate its operations, providing a transport solution that makes the different destinations more accessible, while ensuring their longevity for the future generations.
 

French startup VoltAero unveiled its first prototype Cassio 330 at the Paris Air Show. The aircraft is planned to fly by year-end and the startup is aiming for certification in 2024. Follow-on six- and 12-seat versions are already in development. VoltAero sees its clean-sheet, five-seat Cassio 330 as an ideal way to introduce hybrid-electric propulsion—and eventually hydrogen—to regional aviation without requiring operators to change how they fly today.
 

Air New Zealand and the New Zealand government narrowed down the list of companies they are considering partnering with to establish a SAF production facility—LanzaJet and Fulcrum BioEnergy, both US-based companies. The partners have committed to provide NZ$2.3 million ($1.5 million) for this stage of the project. Air New Zealand will contribute NZ$1.5 million, and the government will provide the remainder.
 

Coinciding with the Paris Air Show, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new investment program to boost sustainable aviation, including plans for a new SAF plant, that would allocate €300 million ($326 million) per year from 2024-2030 to R&D efforts focusing on new aircraft and engines. The new investment triples what the country allotted pre-pandemic and includes the creation of a French SAF production and distribution supply chain. The government plans to devote €200 million to setting up the BioTJET SAF plant in the Pyrenées Atlantiques department, in southwestern France, which will be able to produce 75,000 tons of SAF from forestry residues.  
 

Oxford University spinoff OXCCU completed a $22.7 million Series A funding round to commercialize a process to convert renewable hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide (CO2) to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in a single step. 

Led by Clean Energy Ventures, the funding round included participation by United Airlines Ventures’ Sustainable Flight Fund and the corporate venture arms of energy companies Saudi Aramco and Eni of Italy. Initially, OXCCU plans to produce a high-value synthetic blending component for combination with fossil and bio-derived jet fuel. Eventually, the UK startup is looking at 100% e-SAF. The Series A funding will be used to scale up the technology. OXCCU plans to build a pilot plant at Oxford Airport, England, and the UK startup is looking at sites for a larger demonstration-scale plant that is located closer to sources of CO2 and renewable hydrogen.
 

At the IATA AGM in early June, both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) voiced support for Tokyo’s plan to introduce a bill for local aviation fuel production companies to cater at least 10% SAF from 2030.

In May, ANA released a revised sustainability roadmap, which adjusted its previous SAF target to 10% SAF usage by 2030 by committing to increase that figure to over 10% SAF usage by the end of the decade.
JAL Managing Executive Officer and SVP for Route Marketing Ross Leggett has said corporate travelers will be requesting SAF to be used to fuel their flights to support their company environment, social and governance (ESG) targets. Leggett said that JAL has a 1% SAF usage target by 2025, which increases to 10% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

Pictured, IATA Director General Willie Walsh with ANA CEO Shinichi Inoue at the association's AGM in Istanbul.
 

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology specialist LanzaJet signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus aimed at accelerating SAF production and adoption. The agreement illustrates the aviation industry’s effort to spur the creation of SAF factories as an alternative to airframers, engine manufacturers, and other players becoming construction of its first production facilities. These will use LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet process, which relies on low-carbon ethanol, to create SAF. The bottom line is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 70%, compared to fossil fuels, LanzaJet said. The US-based company’s technology creates an approved drop-in fuel, compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure. The agreement is also targeted at accelerating the certification and adoption of 100% drop-in SAF.
 

Airbus UpNext launched a new demonstrator program to explore, on the ground and in flight, a new architecture for the generation of non-propulsive energy through the use of hydrogen fuel cells. With this new technology demonstrator, led from its facilities in Spain, Airbus UpNext will replace the actual APU of an A330 with a hydrogen fuel cell system that will generate electricity. Known as HyPower, the hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator also aims to reduce the emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and noise levels associated with a traditional APU. New design features and integration techniques will also contribute to maturing the safety and operations of future hydrogen-powered aircraft and will demonstrate the stable operation of a fuel cell in-flight, including its restart.
 

French airports operator Groupe ADP, which runs Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and manages airport properties globally, formed a joint venture (JV) company with Paris-based Air Liquide to provide engineering and consulting services to prepare airports to support hydrogen-electric flights.

The introduction of such flights would require the development of infrastructure and systems for storing and moving liquid hydrogen, which would need to be readily available to aircraft at airports.
 

Amadeus has acquired a minority stake in CAPHENIA, a future producer of synthesis gas, the feedstock of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The German-based company has developed an innovative approach to produce SAF in a more affordable and scalable way. The decision is part of a wider commitment on behalf of Amadeus to support the industry on its journey toward sustainable travel.

The investment will offer Amadeus enhanced visibility into the challenges of the SAF sector, allowing the company to further explore the role it can play in this key element of the industry’s journey to net zero by 2050.
 

Electra.aero unveiled the technology demonstrator for its hybrid-electric ultra-short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. The piloted two-seat demonstrator is set to fly this year to test the blown lift aerodynamics and short-field performance of its design.

Based in Manassas, Virginia, Electra is developing an aircraft that can take off from a soccer-field-sized area with a 150-ft. ground roll and carry nine passengers or 2,500 lb. of cargo up to 500 mi. The TD2 demonstrator will flight-test Electra’s blown lift technology, which uses distributed electric propulsion.

The demonstrator has a modified Cessna 172 wing, with eight electric-powered propellers mounted under the leading edge so that their slipstream flows back over the wing and blows large, double-slotted flaps and drooped ailerons to increase lift at low airspeed. The goal is to demonstrate a 150-ft. ground roll.