Aviation technology group SITA has expanded a partnership with the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) to develop a planning tool which helps airlines reduce aircraft fuel consumption, emissions and operating costs, and more easily comply with complex and increasing environmental regulations. SITA Eco Mission was developed over a year through collaboration with AACO and three of its member airlines to streamline collection and assessment of information which carriers need to report as part of their environmental compliance obligations. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, AACO’s Secretary General, said the product had grown from a need for airlines to manage increasingly complex sustainability requirements, while also providing transparency to both regulators and customers.

“This is a step in the right direction in the journey of airlines’ quest to deliver on their environmental sustainability objectives,” he said.

Added SITA CEO David Lavorel: “As we face unprecedented environmental challenges, achieving sustainability in aviation demands more than compliance. It calls for a visionary approach.”   

The extended collaboration between Geneva-based SITA and AACO, which represents 37 airlines, began late last year when the two signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop a prototype of a data-driven system enabling carriers to simplify and automate reporting processes to meet their environmental compliance obligations.

The new system was also required to help cut the costs of meeting sustainability requirements, while enabling airlines to plan more efficient operations with lower emissions.

The resulting product, SITA Eco Mission, is a ground-based platform that collects data including flight schedules and fuel information from airlines’ internal systems and other information such as commodity prices and regulatory updates from a wide range of external sources.

The information is then consolidated, assessed and optimised by SITA, and delivered as data-backed insights to the relevant key departments of customer carriers to assist them in meeting their efficiency, financial and sustainability targets.

“The aviation industry remains at a critical crossroads as it works to reduce its carbon footprint and meet global sustainability targets, all while navigating increasing regulatory pressure,” said SITA.

“As the aviation industry adapts to increasingly complex regulations such as the European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation mandate and ICAO’s CORSIA, airlines must balance emissions reduction with cost management.

“The continued partnership between SITA and AACO is focused on delivering the data-driven solution needed to simplify and automate compliance and reporting, streamline data collection and analysis, reduce the costs associated with becoming more environmentally friendly and help airlines plan their future operations so that they can meet their cost and emission targets.

“More so, the solution will support airlines in moving beyond a tactical, reactive approach, helping with smarter strategic environmental management across three key airline functions – Compliance; Strategy and Finance; and Flight Operations.”

During the past year, SITA collaborated with three AACO member airlines, which it did not identify, working with members of these functions to jointly chart what was required to navigate complicated regulations governing sustainable operations.

SITA then took the airlines’ feedback and worked with a technology user experience team to develop proof of concept for the Eco Mission product, which was taken back to the airlines for feedback and further refinement over several months.

The new planning tool has now been formally launched, and SITA expects global deployment from next year, when the EU will require all jet fuel provided at its airports to include at least a 2% blend of sustainable aviation fuel.

AACO’s Teffaha said the work performed by SITA and his member airlines had delivered a solution “invaluable not only to AACO airlines but also to the airlines of the world. This is a step in the right direction in the journey of airlines’ quest to deliver on their environmental sustainability objectives.”

Added Lavorel: “Together with AACO, we are advancing a solution that tackles these challenges directly, paving the way for a fresh, practical approach to environmental responsibility that moves the industry closer to its goals.”

Meanwhile, key AACO member Qatar Airways has strengthened its sustainability partnership with Brisbane-based Virgin Australia, a commercial ally of which it has announced plans to acquire a 25% stake, subject to regulatory approval.

The airlines have signed a MoU to expand their partnership, enabling them to collaborate on advancing sustainable aviation fuel and low carbon aviation fuel in Australia through measures including exploring certification, production and commercial use of the products.

“This MoU not only further strengthens the strategic partnership between Qatar Airways Group and Virgin Australia, but also cements the shared commitment towards achieving our common objectives in the area of sustainability,” said Qatar’s SVP Aeropolitical and Corporate Affairs, Fathi Atti.

Editor’s note: AACO Secretary General Abdul Wahab Teffaha and Igor Dimnik, VP Product, SITA will be speaking at Aviation Carbon 2024 in London on November 25/26.

Photo: Qatar Airways has expanded its sustainability partnership with Virgin Australia

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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Expanding US carrier Alaska Airlines has announced an investment in California-based JetZero, which is developing a blended-wing body (BWB) airliner promising up to 50% lower fuel burn than current 200-plus passenger aircraft and targeting 2030 entry into service. The airline did not specify the value of the investment or its potential scale or timing but confirmed that the deal included options for future orders of the blended wing jets. Alaska’s stake in JetZero was facilitated through Alaska Star Ventures, a dedicated investment platform established in 2021 by the airline to identify and support technologies to help it achieve its steep target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040. In 2021, Alaska invested in hydrogen-electric pioneer ZeroAvia and entered a development collaboration on a hydrogen powertrain for a 76-seat zero-emission aircraft with the startup.

“We are always looking for ways to innovate and shape the future of air travel,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska’s SVP of public affairs and sustainability, announcing the JetZero investment.

The family of planes proposed by JetZero features an innovative arrowhead design in which the fuselage and swept-back wings are integrated, lightweight composite materials are widely used and two high bypass jet engines are mounted atop the rear of the fuselage. The company says the design, which also excludes a tail, “dramatically” improves aerodynamic efficiency compared to conventional tube-and-wing jet designs and will a be able to use 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

“A shorter, wider fuselage is blended together, mimicking the wing to provide lift,” explained JetZero. “With less drag and weight, the size of the engines is reduced, which further reduces drag and weight. This breakthrough fills the mid-market gap with an aircraft that achieves half the fuel burn and emissions of the ageing fleet it will replace.”

JetZero was founded in 2021 by an engineering team who pioneered the BWB concept, with co-founder and CTO Mark Page first investigating future BWB properties under a NASA initiative in the 1990s while at McDonnell Douglas. Although blended wing technology has been studied for three decades by NASA and other partners, it is JetZero which is progressing the concept to commercialisation.

Last year, it secured a $235 million award from the Innovation Unit of the US Department of Defense to develop and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft by the first quarter of 2027 and this month it received a grant of $8 million through the FAA’s FAST programme. It is partnering with Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites to build and test the demonstrator, and Pratt & Whitney GatorWorks to design and integrate its propulsion system. Although it will initially be designed to use 100% SAF, JetZero said its design could also accommodate later conversion to hydrogen propulsion.

“The biggest challenge for airlines is lowering fuel burn and emissions,” said JetZero co-founder and CEO Tom O’Leary. “Of all the great new technologies in work, the BWB design delivers the biggest market impact by far. Airlines will see immediate benefit in cost savings, dramatically lower emissions, and improved customer service compared to airplanes flying today. We’re thrilled to welcome Alaska to our team of innovators, and our belief is that this aircraft will reshape aviation.”

The airline’s Diana Birkett Rakow said: “We are proud to invest in JetZero’s development of this innovative next-generation aircraft, with a significant step-change in fuel efficiency. We and JetZero share a vision for more sustainable aviation, and we are excited to partner with them in creating that future.”   

As well as committing to support JetZero, Alaska Airlines is also backing hydrogen-electric propulsion company ZeroAvia, which is developing a family of zero emission propulsion systems to replace fossil-fuel engines in existing turbine and turboprop aircraft.

In May last year, Alaska Airlines delivered one of its decommissioned Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliners – also known as Dash 8-400s – to the hydrogen propulsion company for use as an airborne test platform. The aircraft was previously operated by Alaska’s regional division, Horizon Air.

ZeroAvia is progressing its entry level ZA 600 powertrain towards certification for use in 10-20 seat aircraft by next year, and is well-advanced on its next model, the ZA 2000, designed to retrofit zero emission propulsion systems into 40-80 seat turboprop airliners like the Q400 or Europe’s ATR42 and 72 family of aircraft. For this programme it is targeting entry into service by 2027. Jet derivatives are also planned.

In addition to its JetZero and ZeroAvia partnerships, Alaska Airlines could also be linked to a third new aircraft programme if its proposal to acquire Hawaiian Airlines wins regulatory approval. Hawaiian has invested an undisclosed amount in US-based Regent Seagliders and is part of an advisory group assisting with the design of a 100-seat version of the battery-electric aircraft, which will use waterways and wharves instead of land based runways and airports, and will operate high speed, low altitude flights over water.

Image: Render of the JetZero blended-wing body concept aircraft

Tony Harrington

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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced $291 million in new grants to accelerate air transport decarbonisation, backing projects ranging from production, storage and distribution of sustainable aviation fuels to new aircraft, propulsion and flight planning technologies. The funds have been provided under Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST), a programme which supports initiatives to help achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The grants, made possible under the Inflation Reduction Act, coincide with increasing global concerns that aviation will fail to meet its climate targets without more policy support from governments. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to enhancing the safety of our national transportation system and reaching our mid-century target of net-zero emissions,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “These grants will help put the world on a path toward decarbonising aviation while fostering economic growth and ensuring the US retains its global leadership in aviation.”

The latest grants support 36 projects in 22 states, with the largest proportion – $244.5 million, or 84% – dedicated to producing, transporting, blending or storing SAF, or for studies to determine infrastructure requirements for the low carbon fuels. The remaining $46.5 million has been committed to projects which develop, demonstrate or apply low-emission aviation technologies.

“These grants will reduce carbon pollution, improve aircraft fuel efficiency and increase SAF use,” announced the FAA, adding that all the organisations to be awarded grants were based in the US. But some are also significant players in global markets, or aspiring to be so, supporting not just US aviation but also international partners and customers.

The FAST funding was allocated via four channels – SAF Tiers 1 and 2 and Low Emission Categories 1 and 2 – to a mix of existing and startup fuel producers, logistics and supply chain companies, state and local governments, airport authorities, universities, and both established and evolving manufacturers of aircraft, powerplants and components.

SAF Tier 1 projects, of which there are seven, are focused on supply chain studies to identify SAF infrastructure needs, while Tier 2 projects, of which there are 15, are for the construction of infrastructure to produce, transport, blend and store SAF. There are also 13 Low Emission Technology Category 1 projects, each developing new decarbonisation technologies, and one Low Emission Technology Category 2 project to develop test capabilities to advance new measures.

The largest single grant was $50 million to Martinez Renewables, a joint venture between Marathon Petroleum and global SAF producer Neste, to help fund upgrades at the company’s renewable fuels plant in California to enable production of SAF as synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK). The repurposed facility is expected to produce 100-350 million gallons of SAF per year from 2027.    

Among other major recipients of grants for SAF, BP Products North America secured $26.76 million to produce and blend 10-25 million gallons per year at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington State; Buckeye Terminals was awarded $24 million to upgrade SAF storage and distribution capacity at four facilities in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana; World Energy secured $21.96 million to install and integrate pipeline components to enable SAF delivery to Los Angeles International Airport; and Phillips 66 secured a total of just under $23 million to upgrade or develop four of its locations in California and Oregon to produce, blend and store SAF.

Additionally, Equilon Enterprises was awarded $17.9 million to install infrastructure to receive and blend neat SAF at the Shell Carson Terminal in southern California, with an annual output target of 151 million gallons; Gevo secured $16.8 million to convert a Minnesota facility to produce alcohol-to-jet SAF; Colonial Pipeline Company in Louisiana attracted $16.5 million to increase SAF storage and blending capacity; Arcadia eFuels was awarded $14.6 million for front-end engineering design to build a new SAF plant in Texas; Marquis R&D Energy secured just under $10 million for production, blending and storage infrastructure for ethanol-to-jet SAF; and LanzaJet received $3 million to expand infrastructure to enable delivery of an additional 518,300 gallons of SAF per year.

Emerging aircraft manufacturer JetZero secured an $8 million grant to develop technologies for its new Blended Wing Body aircraft, in particular lightweight composite materials; Otto Aviation Group secured just under $7 million for wind tunnel tests of a transonic super laminar aircraft, designed to achieve twice the efficiency of conventional models by improving airflow over the plane’s surfaces; hydrogen propulsion company ZeroAvia was awarded $4.2 million to progress development of a suite of hydrogen fuel cell powertrains; Heart Aerospace, California, secured $4.1 million to develop hybrid-electric systems for new zero emission planes; Wright Electric received $3.3 million to develop an ultra-high energy battery for zero-emission aircraft; and Boeing received $2.6 million for a new system to more accurately measure fuel loads.

Initiatives delivering incremental reductions in emissions were also recognised in the FAST programme, with a $5.6 million grant to Green Taxi to design, manufacture and certificate an electric nosewheel motor for zero-emission taxiing, initially for installation on Embraer E175 aircraft; Seattle-based Apijet secured $4.5 million for flight planning software enabling airlines to optimise routes with real-time information on operating constraints; and Aersale was awarded $757,400 to develop initiatives to reduce aerodynamic drag on Boeing 737 windscreens, including vertical parking of windshield wipers. 

The universities of Virginia, Illinois and Michigan received funds to advance a range of programmes including supply chain modelling for airport SAF deliveries, flight operations using low-emission technologies and development of a test facility for zero emission electric aircraft systems. The cities of Atlanta and Philadelphia and the Alaska Department of Transportation were variously funded to explore feasibility or means of delivering SAF or increasing its uptake in their jurisdictions. The FAA said no further grants or funding opportunities were under consideration.

Photo (Los Angeles World Airports): SAF producer World Energy secured $21.96 million under FAST to install and integrate pipeline components to enable SAF delivery to LAX

Tony Harrington

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Scandinavian Seaplanes, a charter and tourism operator based in Bergen, Norway, will convert its fleet of six Cessna floatplanes to battery-electric powertrains supplied by Dovetail Electric Aviation, an emerging Australian-Spanish joint venture with which it has signed a strategic partnership agreement. The first of the Scandinavian Cessnas are expected to be converted from 2026 once Dovetail secures regulatory certification of its battery-electric powertrain, which will be test flown next year on an amphibious Cessna Caravan operated by Australia’s Sydney Seaplanes, a co-founder of Dovetail. The announcement closely follows an investment in Dovetail by the Australian state of Victoria, where the company is separately developing a hydrogen-electric propulsion system with greater flight range than the initial battery-electric powertrain. It plans to test-fly its first hydrogen-electric plane, a converted Beechcraft King Air, in 2026.   

The commitment by Scandinavian Seaplanes, Norway’s only operator of amphibious aircraft, comes well in advance of a Norwegian government mandate requiring all short-haul flights to be electrically powered by 2040. The company says the conversions will make it Europe’s first operator of electric seaplanes.

The airline currently operates four Cessna 206 and two Cessna 180 floatplanes and is planning to add another Cessna 206H, potentially before the end of this year. It is also looking to introduce a larger Cessna Caravan for its Bergen operations, and a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 200 for airport-based flights from next year, when it plans to expand its activities to include scheduled flights.

The agreement with Scandinavian Seaplanes takes to more than 70 the number of firm orders and options for Dovetail’s battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion conversion kits to customers including three seaplane operators. Dovetail’s biggest customer is UK-based regional aircraft lessor MONTE with 25 firm orders for zero-emission Dovetail powertrains, and options for up to 25 more.

The announcement of the Scandinavian Seaplanes agreement closely followed an investment in Dovetail of an undisclosed amount from the government of the southern Australian state of Victoria, to which the aerospace manufacturer recently transferred from, Sydney. 

Under the funding deal, details of which were not disclosed, Invest Victoria, the state government’s main investment attraction and promotion agency is offering non-dilutive financial support to Dovetail to help advance local development of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector.

In return for government support, Dovetail has relocated its administrative centre from Sydney to the Victorian capital, Melbourne, and its hydrogen-electric test facility to the Latrobe Regional Airport south-east of Melbourne, a region which itself is being transformed from a former coal mining district. A major mine, once the hub of the region’s industry, was closed in 2017, and Australia’s largest brown coal-fired power station, still located in the region, will be decommissioned in 2035.

While progressing towards test-flying its battery-electric prototype in Sydney, Dovetail is using the new Victorian facility to evolve prototypes of its hydrogen-electric powertrain, which will be test-flown in Victoria in 2027 using a Beechcraft King Air aircraft. One of the plane’s two engines will be replaced with a hydrogen-electric powerplant, which the company will introduce to deliver significantly greater flying range or revenue payload than the initial battery-electric system.

“We are really pleased to support Dovetail Electric Aviation’s new centre in the Latrobe Valley, which will deliver world-leading innovations for the aviation sector, create new jobs in regional Victoria and contribute to the state’s net-zero emissions goal,” said Harriet Shing MP, State Parliamentary representative for Eastern Victoria.

Dovetail’s CEO, David Doral, welcomed the support from the Victorian government which, coupled with other investments, was helping quicken the company’s development of zero emission aircraft propulsion.

“This investment will enable us to accelerate our research and development efforts, bringing us closer to our vision of a sustainable, efficient, and accessible aviation future,” he said.

Meanwhile, as well as backing Dovetail, MONTE  has announced a strategic partnership with Natilus, a US aerospace company developing a next-generation blended-wing-body regional cargo aircraft that it claims will offer an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions through its more aerodynamically efficient structure, and reduce operating costs by more than half. MONTE will provide leasing and financing options for the Natilus Kona aircraft, which the San Diego-based company says will be its first commercially available aircraft.

“This collaboration represents a significant step forward in our mission to revolutionise the cargo transport industry with innovative, environmentally-friendly solutions,” said Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus.

The company says the blended-wing-body design is ideally suited for hydrogen-electric propulsion as hydrogen is volume centric and so suitable for carrying hydrogen tanks without impacting payload or range.

“The Kona is a unique aircraft that has been developed specifically to optimise air cargo operations,” said MONTE COO Timothy Eyre. “The opportunity to integrate hydrogen electric propulsion systems into the aircraft is strongly aligned with our strategy to decarbonise regional aviation.”

Top photo: Scandinavian Seaplanes

Bottom image: The Natilus Kona blended-wing-body regional cargo aircraft

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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United Airlines Ventures has added eight new corporate partners to its Sustainable Flight Fund that aims to reduce emissions from the aviation sector through innovative technology and drive production of sustainable aviation fuel by providing startups with financial and strategic capital. The eight partners – Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mitzuho Leasing Company), Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures and Technip Energies – join 14 others in the fund that now exceeds $200 million. Described by United as a first-of-its-kind effort, the fund’s corporate partners make up all parts of the aviation supply chain, including airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel producers, engineering and technology experts, financiers and travel management. United also offers its customers an opportunity to contribute to the fund when booking a flight, which has raised nearly $500,000 since the fund was launched in February 2023. SAF startups supported to date amongst others include Alder Renewables, Cemvita, OXCCU and Fulcrum BioEnergy, while aircraft technology startups include Archer Aviation, Eve Air Mobility, Heart Aerospace and ZeroAvia.

United has ambitions to be net zero by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets and as the largest airline in the world measured by available seat miles, it is investing in companies and technologies, particularly sustainable aviation fuel, that can reduce its future emissions. In addition to the Sustainable Flight Fund, in 2021 it launched the Eco-Skies Alliance that has participation from leading global corporations to help find ways to reduce their environmental impact through the use of sustainable aviation fuels. United says it has already invested in future production of more than five billion gallons of SAF through forward purchase agreements, more than any other airline.

“SAF is the best tool we have to decarbonise airplanes, but we don’t have enough of it,” commented Andrew Chang, Managing Director of United Airlines Ventures. “To create the fuel supply we need for our fleet, United recognised that we would have to help build a brand-new industry from scratch – like wind and solar in previous decades. As part of our effort to build a new sustainable aviation ecosystem, we recruited a group of partners with the industry expertise to support our startups with both financial and strategic capital, to help them navigate the entire process from conception to commercialisation.”

United’s customers using the airline’s website or app, which now show an estimated carbon emissions for each flight, can help supplement the fund by contributing $1, $3.50 or $7 during the flight booking process before check-out. The airline reports 115,000 people have contributed since February 2023. If the 152 million people who flew on United in 2022 each contributed $3.50 to the fund, says the airline, that would be enough to build a SAF refinery capable of producing around 40 million gallons of alternative fuel annually, based on an illustrative capital expenditure benchmark of $200,000 per barrel per day to build such a facility.

One of the new partners in the fund is Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, which sees an increase in the availability of SAF as a “key driving factor” to achieve aviation sustainability and has already performed flight tests on 100% neat SAF. “In a joint collaborative effort with our partners, we can accelerate large-scale SAF production as the aviation industry progresses towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050,” commented Embraer’s Head of Corporate Innovation, Leonardo Garnica.

Photo: United Airlines

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

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Boeing has selected engine maker Pratt & Whitney and its sibling company Collins Aerospace as partners in its groundbreaking X-66A sustainable aircraft programme, in which a former passenger jet will be converted to test the airframer’s futuristic Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW). The transformation of the 1995-built MD-90 twinjet is part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Project, which is tasked with trialling a range of new technologies to increase aircraft efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. In a radical retrofit, Boeing will remove the plane’s low, rear-swept wings and instal high-mounted, long, thin wings, supported by diagonal trusses. The new, forward-swept wings are designed to reduce aerodynamic drag, improving fuel efficiency by up to 10%, while the addition of Pratt & Whitney’s GTF (geared turbofan) engines, and new nacelles and engine accessories from Collins, together with other initiatives, could improve total efficiency by as much as 30%. Both companies, part of the RTX aerospace group, will also support ground and flight tests of the experimental plane, which are scheduled to commence in 2028.    

The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing programme is a key element of broader US efforts to decarbonise emissions from commercial aircraft, and will help inform the design of future narrowbody airliners. The former Delta Airlines MD-90 to be used in the programme recently flew from Victorville, California, where it was stored, to nearby Palmdale for modification.

NASA estimates that single-aisle airliners generate more than 50% of global emissions from aircraft, but says technical and economic risks often prevent promising technologies from proceeding to production. It is partnering with the aerospace industry on the X-66A programme to help develop and flight test an advanced airframe and new technologies to improve fuel efficiency while reducing emissions, and to gather ground and flight test data to validate the outcomes.

“We are excited to be working with Boeing on the X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, making critical contributions to accelerate aviation towards its 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emission goal,” said Ed Waggoner, Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs in the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

The agency said the research results would help the aerospace industry to progress development of next-generation single-aisle aircraft which meet the goals of the US Aviation Climate Action Plan.   

“This marks an important step in the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, advances Boeing’s commitment to sustainability and brings us closer to testing and validating the TTBW design,” said Dr Todd Citron, Boeing’s Chief Technology Officer.

“The X-66A is NASA’s first experimental plane focused on helping the US achieve its goal of net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “The learnings from the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator and the partnership with NASA are important elements in the industry’s efforts to decarbonise aviation. We’re grateful for the support from RTX on this critical effort.”  

Geoff Hunt, Pratt & Whitney’s SVP Engineering and Technology, said NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator programme highlighted how collaboration across the aerospace sector could help expedite the transition to net zero emission flight.

“We’ll work with Boeing to apply GTF engines to the X-66A and help demonstrate the potential of its pioneering truss-braced wing design,” he said. Pratt & Whitney’s geared fan engines, introduced into service in 2016, are designed to offer up to 20% better fuel efficiency than conventional powerplants and certified to operate with sustainable aviation fuel.

Further improving the efficiency of the testbed aircraft will be lightweight engine nacelles, produced by Collins using durable composite and metallic materials. It will also provide control system components for the GTF engines to be used on the testbed aircraft, including their heat exchangers, integrated fuel pump and starter, and air turbine starter and electronic controls.

“Collins has as long history of successful partnerships with NASA, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney, with decades of experience pushing the boundaries of innovation in aerospace,” said the company’s SVP Engineering and Technology, Dr Mauro Atalla. “Now, as part of the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator programme, we will work together to demonstrate new technologies and systems to support the next generation of low-emission single-aisle aircraft that will play an integral role in reducing the environmental footprint of the aviation industry.”    

RTX is also collaborating with NASA on other sustainable aviation projects, including Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) and Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM), as well as progressing its engines to operate with 100% unblended SAF, hybrid-electric power and hydrogen fuel.

Image (Boeing): A render of the X-66A

Tony Harrington

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Spain’s Air Nostrum Group, which also operates Ireland’s Hibernian Air and Malta’s Mel Air, has doubled to 20 its reservations for new, low-emission Airlander 10 airships from UK-based aerospace company Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). The helium airships, which will seat up to 100 passengers and carry a 10-tonne payload, initially will be lifted and propelled by thrust-vectored hybrid-electric engines, which HAV claims produce 90% lower emissions than similar capacity aircraft. The company is targeting 2026 for test flights and 2027 for certification and entry into service of the first Airlander 10s, and is planning to add a zero-emission, all-electric model by 2030. Air Nostrum Group, which also operates regional flights on behalf of Spain’s Iberia, said the second tranche of ten airships was planned for operations from Spain to eastern Mediterranean destinations including Malta. The airline group has also signed up as the first industrial partner for the development of a 50-tonne version of the airship, designated the Airlander 50.

Hybrid Air Vehicles expects the entry-level Airlander 10 to be the first large-scale aircraft to achieve zero-emission flight for missions including passenger and freight transport, experiential travel, communications and surveillance. “There is a large gap between today’s fast, energy-intensive aircraft, and slower, infrastructure-dependent surface transport,” the company said. “This leads to unmet needs.”

The four-engined Airlander 10 is designed to carry 10 tonnes of payload up to 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometres) at a maximum altitude of 20,000 feet. Its inflatable hull will be made from composite structural materials, with helium buoyancy, aerodynamic design and vectoral thrust used to deliver lift. HAV says the Airlander will be able to stay airborne for up to five days.

In March this year, the company joined the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, a group of local authorities in the north of England, to announce a £7 million ($8.7m) investment in establishing production facilities for the aircraft within the region, creating more than 1,200 jobs. Preparation is now underway to build a production line to develop up to 24 aircraft per year.

“Our growing partnership with Air Nostrum Group continues to demonstrate leadership towards the future of flight, revolutionising how we fly,” said HAV’s CEO Tom Grundy. “Airlander is designed to deliver a better future for commercially-appealing and truly sustainable aviation services, by enabling new transport services and better growth options for our customers.

“Airlander 10 will make this possible by 2027, and Airlander 50 will build on it. We’re so pleased to have doubled Air Nostrum’s reservation to 20 aircraft and to have its backing for our journey, and support for our Airlander 50 development programme.”

The company said the larger aircraft would have a maximum payload of 50 tonnes and a 2,200-kilometre maximum range, and be “the future of heavy lift freight transport … able to move cargo or people point-to-point with minimal infrastructure.”

It added: “Many industries such as remote mining and humanitarian aid rely on substantial, sometimes-fragile infrastructure to transport cargo. Airlander 50 will offer a new solution enabling efficient movement of heavy and awkward freight without damaging the environment.” In an all-passenger configuration, the Airlander 50 will be designed to carry up to 200 people.

Together with Mel Air, HAV has briefed Transport Malta, that country’s aviation regulator, on potential routes for Airlander 10 airships, including both land and water-based operations for sectors such as Malta-Gozo, Malta-Sicily and connections to other destinations in Italy, Tunisia and Libya.

“There are many factors that motivate us in flying Airlander,” said Miguel Ángel Falcón, Chairman of Mel Air and Vice President of Air Nostrum, referring to low fuel consumption for the hybrid-propulsion version, high operational flexibility to take off and touch down on both land and water, and the family concept of offering passenger and freight payload capacity between 10 and 50 tonnes. “These are just some critical factors that make the Airlander an excellent aircraft for regional flights,” he noted.

Transport Malta’s Director-General, Captain Charles Pace, welcomed the innovative and pioneering features of the Airlander programme. “This could be a very interesting opportunity for eco-friendly air services on regional routes based in Malta,” he said. “The geography and distances are well suited to this innovative aircraft, and I look forward to seeing the project advance further and provide alternative green transport between the islands.”

Air Nostrum’s reservations for 20 Airlander 10s and participation in the development of the Airlander 50 build upon an earlier investment, together with fellow regional carrier Volotea, in Spanish aviation company Dante Aerospace, which is developing an all-new electric airliner. The two have also invested in Dante’s sister company, Dovetail Electric Aviation, an Australian-European venture that is developing electric and hydrogen powertrains to convert existing turbine-powered aircraft to zero-emission propulsion. The first aircraft for conversion by Dovetail will be a Cessna Grand Caravan in Australia.

Graphic: Hybrid Air Vehicles’ Airlander 10 in Air Nostrum branding

After a four-year absence due to the global pandemic, the aerospace industry returned in force to the Paris Air Show, which was marked not just by 1,260-plus orders and options for new aircraft, but also by a flood of product, procurement and partnership deals focused on reducing the sector’s impact on the environment. The event was also thick with news of zero-emission aircraft and propulsion systems, technology breakthroughs promising higher efficiency and lower emissions, and research and development programmes to refine or explore paths to more sustainable aviation. An order by India’s largest airline, IndiGo, for 500 Airbus A320 and 321 neo jets to accommodate huge growth plans beyond 2030, reinforced forecasts that the global commercial fleet will double in size over the next 20 years.

Multiple commitments and technology advances were announced for the evolving electric aviation sector, most with certification and entry-into-service targets between 2025 and 2030. Miami-based AeroLease announced it had signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire 50 Eviation Alice electric commuter planes, while Netherlands-based start-up Maeve Aerospace unveiled a revised version of its proposed 44-seat Maeve 01 all-electric aircraft, to be powered with four 1.2 Mw electric motors. Maeve is aiming for certification in 2028 and entry into commercial service in 2030.

French start-up Aura Aero confirmed commitments and collaborations in Europe, the US and Africa for its ERA electric thrust aircraft, which will be offered in passenger and freight configurations. Maltese executive fleet operator Elit’ Avia and French regional carrier Pan Europeene signed LOIs for a combined 12 planes. Additionally, Utah-based freight airline Alpine Air Express signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to assist Aura Aero in gaining US certification for the ERA and Gabon-based AfriJet signed a MoU, which, while not specifying details, the airline’s CEO, Marc Gaffajoli, described as “for us, the most plausible and mature solution.”

Marseille-based airframer Daher, together with Airbus and Safran, exhibited for the first time their EcoPulse aircraft, a hybrid-electric distributed propulsion testbed, which will rely on a single independent electrical source to power multiple engines. Based on Daher’s TBM aircraft platform, the EcoPulse has six wing-mounted e-propellers provided by Safran, and two power sources – a Safran gas turbine and a battery pack supplied by Airbus. The demonstrator will begin flight testing later this year as part of a programme to define, develop and deliver a hybrid-powered plane to market by 2027.

Another French start-up, Beyond Aero, unveiled its four-passenger BYA-1 hydrogen-electric jet, while the Volt Aero Cassio 330, a 4-5 seat hybrid-electric aircraft, was also displayed ahead of its first flight in the coming weeks.

US-based electric powertrain developer MagniX said it would soon start converting a De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft into a zero-emission testbed, replacing two of its four Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A engines with new MagniX 650 electric motors, and a pair of 450kwH battery packs. Another electric propulsion developer, Wright Electric, announced that ground trials of its new aerospace motor-generator had delivered 1 Megawatt (1,300 horsepower) of energy, enabling it to be used as a turbogenerator or auxiliary power unit for high altitude commercial or defence applications.

Airbus announced a research and development partnership with Geneva-based STMicroelectronics to explore the development of lighter, more efficient power electronics required for future hybrid-powered aircraft and all-electric air taxis. They will focus on wide bandgap Silicon Carbide and Gallium Nitride semiconductor materials, which have better electrical properties than conventional conductors such as silicon.

Rolls–Royce revealed it was ready to test its first small gas turbine, developed as a turbogenerator system for novel propulsion aircraft including electric air taxis, and hybrid-electric commuter planes seating up to 19 passengers. Additionally, regional jet maker Embraer announced a joint venture with Japanese electric motor manufacturer NIDEC to develop propulsion systems for eVTOL aircraft, with Embraer’s air taxi division Eve Air Mobility the launch customer.

Hydrogen propulsion developer ZeroAvia announced multiple deals, the largest of them an agreement to deliver 250 hydrogen-electric ZA2000 engines for 40-80 seat turboprop conversions to California-based Flyshare, which will launch a new airline, Air Cahana, on the west coast. UK-based lessor Monte also firmed a previously-provisional order for 100 ZA 600 powertrains for 9-19 seat aircraft, while French lessor Green Aerolease signed an MoU to acquire an unspecified number of ZA 600 units.

ZeroAvia also revealed that in tests with MHIRJ, the type certificate holder for CRJ regional jets, “clear applications” had been identified to retrofit regional jet aircraft with hydrogen-electric propulsion systems. The initial aircraft suitable for conversion to ZeroAvia’s proposed ZA 2000RJ powertrain would be a CRJ 700 aircraft, though the technical study also validated conversions of other in-service CRJ-series jets, including the CRJ 500 and 990 models.

Another zero-emission start-up, Sydney-based Dovetail Electric Aviation, announced a partnership with HTWO, the hydrogen power division of Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company, to test a hydrogen-electric powertrain for regional aircraft, with a view to commencing test flights as early as next year.

Deutsche Aircraft revealed the first metal was being cut for the prototype of its 40-seat D328eco regional airliner, a 100% SAF-compatible turboprop, which is scheduled for its first flight in 2025 and targeting entry into service by 2026, while at the opposite end of the scale US-based Jet Zero revealed its Z4 blended wing concept, targeted as a replacement for mid-market aircraft including the Boeing 767 and 787-8, with fuel burn savings of up to 50%.

The Airbus research arm UpNext announced a new test programme to investigate the replacement of a fossil-fuelled auxiliary power unit with a hydrogen fuel cell system to power non-propulsive aircraft functions including air conditioning, cabin lighting and avionics. An A330-200 jet will be retrofitted for the programme, taking to the air by late 2025.

Airbus also signed a MoU with US-based SAF producer LanzaJet to advance the construction of facilities to produce sustainable aviation fuel using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology, while global energy company Sasol and Topsoe, a specialist in carbon reduction technologies, agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture to develop, build, own and operate new SAF plants, and market renewable fuels. E-fuel producer Twelve also used the Paris show to announce plans for SAF production from CO2 and renewable energy at a new plant to be built in the US state of Washington.

United Airlines Ventures revealed that another seven to eight partners would join its Sustainable Flight Fund within the next two months, and foreshadowed investment in new SAF offtake deals as producers built renewable fuel capacity.

On the eve of the Paris Air Show, seven chief technology officers from major aviation manufacturers released a statement committing to “supporting policies that increase the supply of SAF while ensuring a consistent and predictable demand through harmonised global measures.”

The CTOs of Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and Safran added: “We are unified in the proposition that our industry has a prosperous and more sustainable future, and that we can make it happen through the near-term implementation of lasting industry-wide and globalised harmonised policies.”

Photo: French President Emmanuel Macron visits Aura Aero display at the Paris Air Show

In his first public engagement since his coronation, King Charles III has broken ground on the New Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, a £58 million ($73m) facility aiming to become a leading global centre for net zero aviation and energy. Its mission is to halve the time to develop key technologies to support a sustainable aviation industry. The King met the Laboratory’s staff and researchers, as well as aviation industry and senior government representatives, who gathered for an international roundtable as part of an initiative led by Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Participating organisations included the UK government, UK Aerospace Technology Institute, the US FAA, NASA, EU Clean Aviation Joint Understanding, Airbus, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and the Sustainable Markets Initiative. The facility will incorporate the Bennett Innovation Laboratory and the UK’s National Centre for Propulsion and Power, built around a fast feedback model pioneered in motor racing’s Formula One.

“We need to completely transform the innovation landscape in the aviation and energy sectors if we are to reach net zero by 2050,” commented Professor Rob Miller, Director of the Whittle Laboratory, which was opened in 1973 by Sir Frank Whittle, a pioneer in the development of modern power and propulsion systems for aircraft. “The New Whittle Laboratory has been designed as a disruptive innovation lab targeting the critical early stages in the lifecycles of technologies, where there are windows of opportunity to translate scientific strengths into global technological and industrial leadership.”

The roundtable shared insights based on global aviation systems modelling capabilities developed through the Aviation Impact Accelerator, a project led by the Whittle Laboratory and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Today, reported Miller, it typically takes six to eight years to develop a new technology to a point where it can be considered for commercial deployment in the aerospace and energy sectors, but he said recent trials in the Laboratory had shown this timeframe can be accelerated by breaking down barriers that exist between academia and industry.

“The Lab is designed to work at the intersection of cutting-edge science and emerging  engineering applications, providing fast feedback between the two, and dramatically cutting the time to deliver zero-emission technologies,” added Miller.

The Bennett Innovation Laboratory is made possible through a gift from the Peter Bennett Foundation, himself a Cambridge alumnus and philanthropist. “To tackle the most complex challenges, we need to take a whole systems approach, where innovative technologies can be explored within the context of the realities that may impact their roll out. Rigorous testing using models such as the Aviation Impact Accelerator expedites the process of innovation and implementation.

“We need new ways to work together at speed, which is why the Bennett Innovation Lab will bring together global experts from government, industry and academia, enabling radical collaboration. I believe by using Cambridge’s convening power, this can make a real difference fast.”

Attending the event was the UK’s Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, who said: “The UK is leading a revolution in aviation, looking to new technologies to cut emissions. Having established the Jet Zero Council three years ago by bringing together government, industry and academia, I strongly welcome the Whittle Laboratory being at the forefront of that endeavour today. This will further help the best minds from the fields of energy and aviation push ever-further and faster with the latest innovations in order to solve the problem of environmentally friendly and affordable flying.”

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has had a strategic research partnership with the Laboratory since the 1980s. “We look forward to continuing our relationship over the coming decades and we want our engineers to think of the new Lab as their European home – a unique environment where they can participate in a culture that brings together the best global ideas, expertise, software, tools and testing facilities that can help solve the challenge of climate change.”

The Laboratory also has a long association with aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce that has delivered hundreds of technologies into its products, said Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer, Grazia Vittadini. “Partnerships like this are critical if the UK is to maintain its role as a science superpower and to create high value jobs in the UK,” she said. “The New Whittle Laboratory offers an exciting opportunity to raise this ambition by bringing together cutting-edge science and engineering application in one building with the aim of meeting the challenge of net zero flight by 2050.”

Also represented at the event was US aeroplane manufacturer Boeing. “Our partnership with the University of Cambridge is central to the effort of making aviation carbon neutral,” said Jim Hileman, VP and Chief Engineer, Sustainability and Future Mobility. “As well as helping us to find technology solutions, it is bringing together different companies and academic disciplines from across the sector to drive change at the system level. We are excited by the way in which the New Whittle Laboratory has been designed to break down silos, bringing together a wide range of disciplines to take on the most challenging net zero aviation problems.”

When Prince of Wales, King Charles visited the Laboratory in 2020 and 2022 to encourage the acceleration of sustainable aviation. He hosted an industry roundtable in 2020 in London with the Sustainable Markets Initiative and the World Economic Forum to explore solutions for decarbonising air travel.

Photo (© University of Cambridge, Lloyd Mann): King Charles at the ground-breaking ceremony for the New Whittle Laboratory

Christopher Surgenor

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Following a Scandinavian test run last year, the Lufthansa Group has launched its ‘Green Fares’ offering by all its six airlines on more than 730,000 flights per year within Europe and North African destinations Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Under its “more climate-friendly pledge”, the fares have already built in the extra cost of offsetting all flight-related CO2 emissions, with 20% of the contribution being used to purchase sustainable aviation fuel and the remainder in “high quality” climate protection offsets. The Green Fares can be booked “with just one click” via the airlines’ websites as well as the NDC platform in Economy and Business classes. The Group has also signed an MoU with VARO Energy on the production and supply SAF, deliveries of which could possibly start as early as from 2026. It also revealed more than 20 Boeing 777-300ER long-haul aircraft will be equipped with film modelled on the microscopic structure of shark skin that collectively will reduce the Group’s CO2 footprint by over 25,000 tonnes annually.

“People don’t just want to fly and discover the world – they also want to protect it at the same time,” commented Christina Foerster, responsible for brand and sustainability on Lufthansa Group’s Executive Board. “We already offer the most comprehensive portfolio for more sustainable travel and are now expanding this further with the Green Fares.”

The Green Fares offer, available on flights by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Edelweiss, Eurowings Discover and Air Dolomiti, is also available to corporate customers, who will receive a CO2 mitigation certificate for the CO2 reduction achieved through the use of SAF.

A random midweek Lufthansa flight in March from Munich to London is quoted at €140 ($150) for a one-way Economy Classic ticket. The cost of the Economy Green fare for the same flight is €165, and has the added benefit of free rebooking, worth €35, and additional 20% status miles and 20% award miles. On the same flight, the Business Green fare in business class carries a €60 premium over Business Saver.

“The Green Fares were already successfully tested last year for flights from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This showed that the demand for more sustainable travel offers is increasing,” said Harry Hohmeister, who has responsibility for global markets and network on the Lufthansa Group Executive Board. “We are pioneering the industry and living up to our ambition to develop innovative solutions for aviation of the future and we are making it even easier for our customers to book more sustainable offers.”

Under the MoU between Lufthansa and Swiss-based VARO Energy, which they say builds on their existing relationship, the two companies will explore SAF production and supply, and also jointly investigate the use of biogenic feedstock, such as sewage sludge, to produce green hydrogen that can potentially be used at a later stage for e-kerosene.

VARO says decarbonising the aviation industry is a core element of its strategy and is targeting production of more than 260,000 tonnes of SAF per year by 2026, with a long-term target of more than 500,000 tonnes per year.

“Our ONE VARO Transformation strategy is centred on meeting the needs of our customers to decarbonise as they progress in the energy transition while ensuring reliability of supply,” commented Dev Sanyal, CEO of VARO Energy. The company has a majority share in the Bayernoil refinery in southern Germany and a 51% stake in nature-based carbon dioxide removals company SilviCarbon.

The AeroSHARK bionic film developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF is applied to the aircraft’s outer skin and after a testing and certification process lasting several months, EU safety agency EASA has granted Lufthansa Technik a Supplemental Type Certificate for the series application of the technology on two Boeing 777s. The first SWISS aircraft equipped with AeroSHARK has already been in scheduled service since October as part of the flight test certification programme. Over time, all 12 B777-300ER aircraft will fly with the fuel-saving surface technology, as well as Lufthansa Cargo’s fleet of 11 Boeing 777F freighters.

AeroSHARK consists of millions of ribs around 50 micrometres in size, known as riblets, that imitate the properties of sharkskin and thus optimise the aerodynamics at flow-relevant points, such as the fuselage or the engine nacelles. By covering 950 square metres of a 777-300ER’s outer skin, Lufthansa estimates annual savings of around 400 tonnes of jet fuel and more than 1,200 tonnes of CO2 can be achieved.

“Our ambitious goal is a neutral CO2 balance by 2050 and by 2030 we want to halve our net CO2 emissions compared to 2019,” said Foerster. “With the broad rollout of the AeroSHARK surface technology, we are once again underlining our innovation leadership. We are the first airline group worldwide to use this new technology.”

Photo: Lufthansa Technik

Christopher Surgenor

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