Airlines and the Aviation Industry Heading towards Climate-friendly Flying
What sounded like utopia until a few years ago is becoming more and more of a reality. Airlines, as well as the aviation industry in general, are doing everything they can to achieve the ambitious goal of making flying climate-neutral by 2050.
In this regard, the BARIG member airlines are pursuing a variety of approaches and sustainable initiatives. Together with partner companies, they support a wide range of projects and innovations to protect and preserve the environment and climate; in some cases, they are investing billions of euros. The production of “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” (SAF) appears to be an efficient solution, as it is manufactured using the climate-neutral “Power-to-Liquid” (PtL) process and, unlike conventional kerosene, does not require any fossil fuels. Consequently, production facilities are currently being built at numerous locations around the world in order to meet the airlines’ continuously increasing demand.
BARIG Secretary General Michael Hoppe states: “Our industry takes the issues of climate protection and sustainability very seriously. For many airlines, the use of SAF—in addition to other innovations such as the development of electrically or hydrogen-powered aircraft—is a key element of their strategy in this field. Therefore, we are glad that the production of sustainable kerosene is gaining momentum in Germany as well. We consider this as another good example of how important the balanced interaction between our industry and politics is: If we work together effectively, we can achieve our climate targets without jeopardizing mobility, economic prosperity, or jobs.”
Gradually, SAF production facilities are also being built near international commercial airports in Germany; the most recent examples include the Frankfurt and Hamburg locations. In the city on the Main River, the company Ineratec—in collaboration with the Centre of Competence for Climate, Environment and Noise Protection in Aviation CENA Hessen—is investing around 30 million euros to build one of the world’s largest PTL plants at Industriepark Höchst. The production of e-fuel for aircraft is scheduled to start as early as 2023. From then on, the plant will be producing up to 4.6 million liters of e-fuel per year from 10,000 metric tons of CO2. In Hamburg, the energy supplier Uniper, the energy technology group Siemens Energy, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus as well as the chemical and energy company Sasol EcoFT have joined forces to form “Green Fuels Hamburg.” Their goal is to build a large-scale electrolysis plant for the production of green hydrogen from electricity, to which a further production plant for PtL-fuels will be linked. In its first stage of expansion, this plant will be producing at least 10,000 metric tons of green kerosene annually for the aviation industry, starting in 2026.
More information on aviation and climate protection at https://www.barig.aero/en/topic/aviation-and-climate-protection
