International airlines adapt to advanced aviation tech for more sustainable and eco-friendly air travel

The topic of a more sustainable and environmentally friendly air travel continues to be an important issue throughout the years. Other than contributing to a safer environment, sustainability also promotes awareness on climate change impacts brought about by aircraft technology enhancements. 

In 2022, United Nations scientists embraced the objective of reaching net-zero carbon emissions in flights by 2050. While there is no guarantee that the airline industry will achieve this goal, new airline technologies are continuously being developed and sought out. 

In fact, the aviation industry is turning to advanced technologies to substitute traditional carbon-emitting fuels with alternatives like hydrogen, electricity, or hybrid fuels, just like what we are seeing now in automotive vehicles. These alternatives include making use of SAF or low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel.

To give a brief background, SAF is a composition of biofuels from renewed waste products and biomasses like used cooking oil. According to Jane Ashton, director of sustainability for easyJet, SAF can serve as a temporary substitute in reducing carbon emissions until the aviation industry achieves complete carbon-neutral flights.

However, even with these advancements and alternatives, the plans all come with their own difficulties, hindering the ultimate goal of zero emission flights by 2050.

The Compromises of Utilizing Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in Airlines

One of the main problems of using SAF is the cost. According to Lauren Riley, chief sustainability officer of United Airlines, buying SAF would be twice or four times more expensive than the conventional jet fuel used in airlines. In her words: 

“We cannot afford that on our own.” 

Furthermore, senior director for global transportation and lead senior economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Pedro Piris-Cabezas, cautions against using SAF as it promotes deforestation for single-crop plantations. This is because the used cooking oil in SAF is not actually fresh palm oil.

Lastly, Andreas Schäfer, the director of the Air Transportation Systems Laboratory at University College London, says their organization doesn't have nearly enough used cooking oil and similar materials to produce anything like the amount of fuel that the aviation industry needs.

The Hidden Potential of Air as a Resource Along With Other Innovations

With all of these challenges involving SAF, scientists continue to explore other alternative options for creating SAF like algae, yard trimmings, and food waste. Interestingly enough, an amazing potential source could be the very air we breathe.

Researchers were able to develop the technology for this specific process called “power to liquid.” It makes use of humongous fans to scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, combining the extracted carbon with hydrogen from water electrolysis, which is also powered by renewable energy. The resulting hydrocarbon is a material that can be utilized in powering airplanes.

Moreover, another innovation being considered by experts is hydrogen-powered aircraft, though this plan has its own caveats too. Hydrogen as a gas is too copious to be contained in airplanes due to its innate temperature. With this in mind, cryogenic superstructures would be needed at airports for fueling and storage, which, ultimately, is not an easy feat. 

Lastly, one promising low-carbon option is electric-powered flights. On this topic, Norway seems to be in the lead. Avinor, a Norwegian airport operating company, has plans for fully-electric domestic flights by 2040. Meanwhile, Wideroe, another Norwegian airline, plans to develop its first fully-electric plane in service by 2026.

How the Contrails Emitted From Planes Add to the Problem

Other than the challenges faced in innovating new aircraft technologies, scientists also discovered that contrails, or the small clouds forming from the trail of a plane, apparently affect the Earth’s temperature. 

According to Dr. Steven Barrett, director of the M.I.T. Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, contrail warnings have been very significant and are comparable to the effects of carbon dioxide. The overall impact of contrails are prominent warming, possibly half to three times the effect of carbon dioxide emissions from aircrafts.

Because of that, Dr. Barrett is collaborating with Delta Air Lines in researching how slight shifts to flight routes could aid in lessening contrail emissions. Since contrails only form in niche conditions, like when it’s cold and humid, it can be an easy and cheap plan for airlines to change plane routes to avoid making contrails. In his words: 

“Eliminating contrails is quite a big lever on mitigating the climate impact of aviation.” 

Meanwhile, co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California San Diego, David Victor, emphasized the significance of being more aware of contrails and its potential impacts. Victor also supposes that the 2050 zero carbon emission goal is far from being feasible. 

The Uncertain Future of the Aviation Industry

In summary, it can be clearly seen that the aviation industry as a whole has many attempts and plans for total sustainability. These include the different airline technologies being innovated, as well as the continuous search for substitutes in creating SAF. 

Despite these actions, it’s hard to ignore the difficulties that come with such plans of actions. There’s the issue of funding and cost, the rigorous production process, engineering difficulties, and most importantly, the assurance if the innovative plans are truly a sustainable solution. 

The plans laid out by the aviation industry show promise and potential, but it’s still hard to guarantee that these propositions are enough to achieve the industry’s 2050 goal. Only time will tell if these actions are concrete enough to achieve complete sustainability in flight travels.