Electric aviation pioneer Ampaire has partnered with Dimensional Energy, an emerging power-to-liquid producer, to perform a ground test of a hybrid-electric powertrain using 100% e-SAF created by converting carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere. The two US-based companies performed the test using an Ampaire Eco Caravan, a Cessna Grand Caravan commuter plane retrofitted with an Ampaire AMP-H570 AMP Drive propulsion system. Dimensional Energy specialises in power-to-liquid production, blending captured CO2 with green hydrogen to create syngas, which is then to converted to low carbon liquid e-fuel.  Ampaire has also announced the acquisition of Magpie Aviation, whose autonomous tow aircraft can be used to meet electric planes during flight and tow them for part of their journey, enabling the e-planes to conserve battery power and extend their flight range, before descending under their own power.

Ampaire and Texas-based Dimensional Energy are both backed by global climate investment platform Elemental Excelerator and have significant advance orders for their products. The propulsion company says its AMP-H570 hybrid electric propulsion systems can reduce by 50-70% the fuel burn and emissions of conventional Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engines usually used to power the short-haul Cessna Caravan.

Dimensional’s customers include United Airlines Group, which has not only ordered 300 million gallons of the e-SAF but also invested in the fuel start-up in 2022. Ampaire said the ground test using Dimensional’s 100% ASTM D7566 SAF “exceeded expectations” and progressed the powertrain’s development.

“By showcasing the transformative efficiency gains achievable through hybrid-electric propulsion, we are driving the future of eco-friendly air travel,” said Kevin Noertker, CEO of California-based Ampaire. “The successful ground test using pure SAF from Dimensional Energy marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards sustainable aviation. For those already recognising the potential of SAF, its integration into our hybrid electric aircraft enhances its appeal even further.” 

Dimensional Energy, which describes itself as a “carbon-to-value technology company”, creates e-fuels through the capture and conversion of atmospheric CO2, a pathway which does not rely on feedstocks such as used fat, oils, greases or solid waste, but which, when scaled, will not be limited by feedstock scarcity.

By scaling hybrid-electric technology and SAF for air transport, the company says, “there is an additional opportunity to address the quality and cost concerns associated with SAF, paving the way for even broader use in the aviation industry.”

The Dimensional Energy process involves extracting CO2 from the air with giant fans, then combining it with green hydrogen, produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The syngas this creates is converted via the Fischer-Tropsch process into variations of liquid fuel including SAF or renewable diesel for road and sea transport.

“Technology providers have to collaborate beyond innovation and into execution,” said Jason Salfi, CEO of Dimensional Energy. “By combining Dimensional’s e-fuels with Ampaire’s aircraft technology that can reduce the amount of fuels combusted during flight, we quicken the pace up the steep curve of the energy transition and reduce the need for extraction faster.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Ampaire on this groundbreaking initiative. Our partnership underscores our commitment to advancing sustainable aviation fuel solutions that offer tangible benefits to the aviation industry and contribute to a greener future.” 

Ampaire’s 11-passenger Eco Caravan is already attracting industry interest, with UK-based regional aircraft lessor Monte announcing orders for 25 and options for another 25, and commitments for up to 11 more from Azul Conector and US air mobility provider WingTips. In addition to the Eco Caravan, and its first e-plane, a converted three-passenger Cessna 337 Skymaster dubbed The Electric Eel, Ampaire is also working with NASA to progress the Eco Otter, a four-motor, hybrid-electric version of the 19-seat DHC Twin Otter regional workhorse, targeting a 40-50% reduction in fuel consumption, 65-75% lower emissions, and a 22-32 decibel reduction in noise.

Additionally, it is planning an all-new fully electric commuter plane, the Ampaire TailWind, to be powered by a single rear-mounted ducted fan.  

Elemental Excelerator is a US-based, non-profit global investment platform with a portfolio exceeding 150 companies, “funding projects for climate technologies in communities, and embedding equity and access into climate solutions.”  

CEO Dawn Lippert welcomed the Ampaire-Dimensional partnership as a textbook example of the projects the fund supported. “The announcement by two Elemental portfolio companies, both leaders in their fields, is exactly the kind of collaboration we imagined when investing in Ampaire and Dimensional Energy,” she said. “Their innovations reduce pollution and noise in neighbourhoods around airports and make possible a cleaner way to fly.”  

The Magpie deal expands the portfolio of capabilities offered by Ampaire, and adds to its recent acquisition of another autonomous aircraft business, Talyn, which uses a vertical take-off and landing mule to lift an electric freight aircraft to and from cruise level, without the freighter expending battery power to climb or descend.

Ampaire’s Kevin Noertker said the acquisition of Magpie Aviation would deliver revenue growth across both the commercial and defence sectors, while also extending the capabilities and mission scope of its existing hybrid planes.

“Building upon our recent acquisition of Talyn Air the addition of Magpie exemplifies our deliberate approach to integrating pivotal companies and assets on our path to accelerate our leadership in electric aviation,” he said, foreshadowing more announcements during this year.

Photo: Fuelling of an Ampaire Eco Caravan with 100% e-SAF supplied by Dimensional Energy for ground testing

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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United Airlines has announced a $15 million investment in Svante, a Canadian company specialising in carbon capture and removal technology. Svante’s proprietary technology uses structured absorbent beds, or filters, to capture CO2 sucked from the atmosphere or from industrial emission sources, for conversion into fuel or removal and storage. The investment, part of Svante’s Series E financing round, was made by UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, a division recently established by United to support companies focused on SAF research, technology and production. United is committed to eliminating its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 without the use of conventional carbon offsets, and has invested in a range of emerging SAF producers and zero-emission aircraft and engine concepts. It has also invested in the future production of more than 3 billion gallons of SAF – more, it claims, than any other airline – using a variety of feedstocks and production processes.

Svante, named after Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenuis, who is credited as one of the first to identify the correlation between increased CO2 in the atmosphere and warming of the Earth’s surface, is a specialist in second-generation sorbent-based carbon capture and removal, through which structured absorbent beds, or filters, are used to capture atmospheric CO2, called direct air capture (DAC), or 95% of CO2 emissions from industrial flue gas, which is referred to as point-source carbon capture.

The investment by United is part of Svante’s Series E financing round, which will be used to fund and support its commercial-scale filter production facility in Vancouver. Among the company’s partners is Dimensional Energy, a CO2-to-jet fuel company in which United Airlines Ventures invested last year.

“Carbon capture technology has the potential to be a critical solution in the fight to stop climate change and has the added benefit of helping us scale the production of SAF,” said Scott Kirby, United’s CEO. “There’s no question that this carbon utilisation is in its infancy today but as a leader in sustainable flying, we must help build the foundation to deploy this technology of the future as expediently as possible. We’re building on that approach by investing in both companies that can capture CO2 and others that can turn it into fuel. United’s investment in Svante reflects our dedication to making sustainable travel a reality.”

Svante CEO Claude Letourneau responded: “The airline industry has a huge opportunity to make a big impact on global decarbonisation, battling climate change through the transition to sustainable aviation fuels and other innovative technologies that will help the world achieve net zero. We are pleased to have the support of United Airlines as one of our world-class investors. Their investment in companies like ours will aid in accelerating the commercialisation of carbon capture and removal technology.”

Jason Salfi, CEO of Dimensional Energy, said his company and Svante were already working together to design integrated systems for CO2 conversion to SAF. “There is enough CO2 in the atmosphere and in industrial process emissions to provide all of the carbon necessary for the fuels and products people use every day, now and into the future,” he said. “Svante provides the first step towards a circular carbon economy.”      

Warned Letourneau: “Without carbon capture, utilisation and storage, the world will not reach net zero by mid-century,” he warned. “To effectively capture the CO2 currently being emitted into the atmosphere, the world needs to have 10,000 capture plants running over the next 30 years, or two plants a week in the next decade, at a cost of approximately $250 million per plant.” 

United’s investment in Svante is representative of a growing number of deals in North America enabled by the Biden Administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a major initiative which includes a blended tax credit for SAF infrastructure and supply as well as incentives for clean energy and carbon capture. When the legislation was announced, Letourneau described it as “a monumental bill that truly demonstrates America’s commitment to climate action, and a way to monetise CO2 emissions to develop a viable carbon management industry. Its impact will drive the investment required to bring mass commercial-scale projects to financial investment decision.”

Founded in 2007, Svante currently has four pilot plants in Canada and California and its Series E fundraising round, led by Chevron New Energies, closed at $318 million.

Graphic: Svante’s technology employs structured absorbent beds, known as filters, which can capture 95% of CO2 emissions from industrial sites as well as CO2 that’s already in the air. Once the CO2 is captured, it is concentrated and can be used in the creation of SAF or other products. It can also be safely transported and stored underground.

United Airlines Ventures (UAV) has announced an investment in New York-based Dimensional Energy, the airline group’s fourth move into sustainable aviation fuel production, and its first into power-to-liquid (PtL) technology, in which carbon dioxide is transformed into SAF. United has also agreed to purchase at least 300 million gallons of SAF from Dimensional over 20 years, adding to multiple existing agreements that the airline claims add up to the biggest collective SAF commitment by any airline. The deal caps off a flurry of fresh SAF announcements across the US, from Hawaii to New York, as the air transport industry intensifies efforts to cut its carbon emissions. A project involving Delta Air Lines and Neste is now delivering SAF through fuel pipeline systems direct to New York LaGuardia. Meanwhile, there have been renewed calls from across the US aviation sector for greater government incentives to expedite and increase the availability of affordable supplies of SAF, reports Tony Harrington.

Dimensional Energy converts carbon dioxide and water into usable ingredients for the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process that can turn those elements and others into liquid fuels. While this system has been widely used to create fossil fuels, Dimensional claims it will be one of the first to produce sustainable aviation fuels from the process. Last year, the company’s activities attracted funding from climate technology investor Elemental Excelerator, through which it was introduced to United, which wants to cut emissions directly rather than through offsets.

“Sometimes you have to look to the past to solve new problems and we recognise that decarbonising air travel is going to require combining proven technologies, such as Fischer-Tropsch, with the latest advances in science and engineering,” said United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen. “As we grow our portfolio of companies like Dimensional, we are creating opportunities to scale these early-stage technologies and achieve United’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050, without the use of traditional carbon offsets.”

UAV has already invested in SAF producer Alder Fuels, from which United Airlines will acquire up to 1.5 billion gallons of SAF, while United itself has bought into Fulcrum Bioenergy, together with an option to buy up to 900 million gallons of SAF. As well, UAV recently invested in Cemvita Factory, a US-based synthetic biology company which is planning SAF production.

Dimensional says it can transform carbon dioxide from sources including direct emissions from industrial sites, direct air capture and biological paths including fermentation and biomass gasification, providing United with some protection from the constraints of feedstock availability affecting other biofuel pathways. Last year, in Tucson, Arizona, the company began constructing a CO2-to-fuels facility, part-powered by locally-produced renewable energy, and expects to begin operating next month.

”United’s support of sustainable aviation fuel made from captured emissions is an important step in the aviation industry’s pursuit of carbon neutrality,” said Jason Salfi, CEO and joint founder of Dimensional Energy. “We envision a world run on truly conflict-free energy that can scale to meet the global demand for hydrocarbon fuels and feedstocks.”

Meanwhile, competitor Delta Air Lines was one of four participants in a milestone project to deliver the first supplies of SAF to New York’s LaGuardia Airport using existing infrastructure. The fuel was processed in Texas by waste-to-SAF producer Neste, then transported via the Colonial and Buckeye pipeline systems to the airport to power a Delta flight. “SAF is the most effective tool we have to decarbonise our industry,” said Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Pamela Fletcher. “These efforts show how existing infrastructure can be used to transport SAF to east coast airports and drive down emissions, a critical step as we move toward a more sustainable future for air travel.”   

The fuel was loaded by Neste into the Colonial Pipeline and pumped almost 1,500 miles to New Jersey, where it was transferred into the Buckeye Pipeline which feeds LaGuardia Airport. “The US east coast is home to some of the USA’s busiest airports and the vast majority of them get their fuel from the Colonial Pipeline system and, in New York, the Buckeye Pipeline system,” added Chris Cooper, Neste’s VP of Renewable Aviation in the Americas. “What we’re doing here is showing that just around the corner is a future where passengers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, up to LaGuardia, JFK (Kennedy Airport) and EWR (Newark Airport) can board a plane flying on SAF.”

Delta and Neste have called for additional government policy settings and supply chain incentives in the US to increase production pf SAF, while driving down its cost. Announcing the LaGuardia initiative, they said: “A SAF Blender’s Tax Credit, for example, that is technology and raw material-neutral, will even the playing field between SAF and fossil jet fuel. At the state level, a Low Carbon Fuel Standard with voluntary opt-in provisions for SAF will provide a policy framework with a proven track record to incentivise SAF production and speed the development of cleaner infrastructure, supporting healthier environments for our communities.”

In Los Angeles, alongside the IX Summit of the Americas, at a roundtable event they hosted on sustainable air transport, industry body IATA and Boeing also ramped up pressure on governments to support SAF production with incentives.

”To reach the industry’s net zero goal, governmental support is critical to developing policies that efficiently accelerate the commercial production and deployment of SAF,” said Peter Cerdá, IATA’s Regional VP for the Americas.

Landon Loomis, Boeing’s VP Latin America, Caribbean and Global Policy, added: “The message from the experts at the roundtable is clear. In addition to a sector-wide partnership, it takes policy commitments, technology deployment and infrastructure efficiency improvements to achieve the industry’s commitment to reach decarbonisation by mid-century.”

Corresponding with the event, Boeing and seven airlines – Aeromexico, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, COPA Airlines, Delta, United and WestJet – collectively bought 100,000 gallons of SAF (379,000 litres) from World Energy to part-power flights from Los Angeles International Airport, collectively cutting their CO2 emissions by around 472,000 pounds (214.3 tonnes).

In a message to the roundtable, John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, said: “Reducing emissions from hard to decarbonise sectors like aviation is essential to tackling climate change. I am encouraged by the commitment of airlines worldwide to scale up the use of sustainable aviation fuels, which have the potential to not only significantly reduce emissions in-sector but also to provide economic opportunity.”

As part of its 2022 ecoDemonstrator programme, Boeing will fly one of its own 777-200ER aircraft using a 30/70 SAF blend for all test flights. During the next six months of flight and ground tests, Boeing will evaluate around 30 new technologies aimed at improving sustainability and safety for the aerospace industry, including a water conservation system to reduce aircraft weight and fuel, and technologies to improve operational efficiency.

Separately in Honolulu, Hawaiian Airlines announced a partnership with Par Hawaii, one of the state’s largest energy providers, to explore the viability of developing SAF in the islands from sustainable crops, while in Houston, Texas, renewable energy start-up No Carbon Air announced plans to produce sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen fuel, and other green energy sources through Fischer-Tropsch conversion of landfill materials including municipal solid waste, hazardous materials, tyres, waste coal, sludges and other waste streams. The company’s CEO, Bill Smith, said the waste, once converted to synthetic gas, would be processed through an FT system capable of producing 3,000 gallons of sustainable jet fuel per day, or 1 million gallons per year.

Photo: United Airlines