Making aviation more sustainable will take a village

A recent UN recent report warns that about a 1.5°C increase in the Earth's temperature – the maximum level established by the Paris Agreement – could affect resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security, cities, tourism and carbon removal. With the aviation industry generarting 2.5% of total carbon emissions, the industry’s race toward net zero has never been more critcal.

In the complex task of mitigating CO₂ emissions in the air transport sector, manufacturers play a vital role. Our sustainability strategy at Airbus goes beyond the design and deployment of more efficient airplanes and the development of a zero-emission aircraft – we also want to lead the transition to climate-neutral operations throughout the supply chain, focusing on the use of renewable energies and infrastructure based on sustainable energy ecosystems.

Climate neutrality will not simply appear overnight, however. The aerospace industry will need to rapidly transform its existing energy sources. Today at Airbus, we are working closely with airlines such as SAS Airlines and easyJet to implement a new energy ecosystem, based on the use of hydrogen, which can store up to three times more energy than traditional jet fuel. We also use sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). While Airbus aircraft are certified to operate with up to 50% SAF blends, last year we launched a 100% SAF project that will help support future certification of this fuel for blends exceeding the current 50% maximum.

Given the need to encourage more sustainable travel and achieve the CO₂ reductions that the industry is targeting in the medium to long term, through research we have also identified other propulsion alternatives such as Power-to-Liquid (PtL) synthetic e-fuel made from renewable hydrogen and CO₂ captured directly from carbon in the air. These alternative power sources hold enormous potential, not only in terms of climate impact, but also in cost and scalability.

Collaborating with the industry to propel the aviation of the future includes deliberating on new airport infrastructures, serving operators, passengers, and the environment. The Airbus Hydrogen Hub at Airports concept brings together key industry players to aid airport ecosystems to better equip themselves for the next generation of aircraft and develop a step-by-step approach to decarbonize the entire air terminal system. We can proudly say that we have already put this initiative at work with the signing of a partnership with ADP (Aéroports de Paris) and Air Liquide to better understand the hydrogen infrastructure needs of two airports in Paris.

Topics such as these and many more were openly discussed during the first of its kind Airbus Summit, a two day event that brought together renowned aerospace experts, operators, thought leaders, journalists, influencers and policymakers to examine aerospsace’s role in sustainability and decarbonisation as part of the industry’s race towards net zero and the innovations and cross-sector partnerships it will take to get there.

In the next edition of Noticias Airbus, we will bring you the most pressing conversations and panel discussion during the Summit with some of the world’s leading industry and sustainability experts. Stay tuned.