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November 2021 – open access articles The following articles are taken from Energy World magazine’s November 2021 edition for promotional purposes. For full access to the magazine, become a member of the Energy Institute by visiting www.energyinst.org/join
Sustainable development
SOLAR FOR AFRICA
Solar development begins to accelerate in Africa Africa receives more hours of sunshine than any other continent on Earth. So why doesn’t it have more solar power? Andrew Mourant looks at the companies and technologies that could finally help Africa make the most of this renewable resource.
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olar power remains Africa’s great untapped energy resource. While it’s true that economically-advanced nations like Morocco and South Africa are home to some enormous installations, African renewable developers have yet to fully exploit the continent’s abundant solar resources. There are many reasons for this – fragile economies and remote terrain among them. Some areas are geopolitically unstable and so are shunned by investors. Where more stable countries offer better prospects, China has been alert, funding numerous infrastructure projects since the early 2000s. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China was behind 30% of all electric power generated in Africa between 2010 and 2015. More recently it has backed a 55 MW solar farm in Garissa, Kenya, the largest in East Africa. Launched by President Kenyatta in December 2019, Garissa is the country’s first major plant of its kind, costing $128mn and meeting around 2% of national energy demand. It covers 85 ha and its 300,000 panels can produce more
16 Energy World | November 2021
An aerial view of Morocco’s Noor solar complex, one of the continent’s largest renewable energy installations Photo: Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy
than 76,000 MWh a year, enough to power 625,000 homes. Garissa was built by China’s Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation with money borrowed from the country’s Exim Bank. A deal was struck for Kenya Power and Lighting Company to buy power around 40% cheaper than the diesel-generated equivalent. In 2019, the World Bank approved $237mn of grants from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and International Development Association (IDA) to help foster a market for stand-alone solar products in Western and Central Africa. An additional $22mn was added this year. The aim is to create ‘an enabling environment’ for the production of lanterns, home systems and water pumps, with an emphasis on encouraging start-ups and established businesses. Loans are also available to solar equipment distributors and ‘productive end users’ of systems, such as farms and commercial and industrial SMEs. Multinationals have also begun partnering with specialist off-grid solar companies. Examples include
a joint venture involving French energy giant EDF’s Côte d’Ivoire subsidiary and Californian start-up Off Grid Electric. This project had an initial target of installing 100,000 domestic systems in rural areas by 2020. Customers make monthly payments to reimburse the cost of installation and become owners of their equipment after three years. Concentrated solar The largest projects in Africa have, however, proved complex to fund and set up. Morocco is home to Noor Solar, one of the world’s largest concentrated solar plants. It represents an effort by the country’s government to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Morocco plans to generate 52% of its energy from renewables by 2030. Noor, an installation of over 580 MW near Agadir, was built in three phases from 2013 and is said to have cost around $2.5bn. Named for the Arabic word for ‘light’, the project was built by an international consortium that includes ACWA Power, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy, solar power company Aries and Spanish technology provider TSK. Constructed on sands below the
Sustainable development
Power is expected to be sent to the grid from 5:00 am to 9:30 pm daily. Scatec will be paid under a 20-year power purchase agreement, the value of which has not been disclosed. This summer came news that Mozambique coal power generator Ncondezi Energy will link up with South African investment company Nesa Capital in a joint venture to supply solar energy and storage. The plan is to fund and run 67 sites across both countries that can generate 16 MW of power, with 1.1 MWh of battery storage incorporated. Funding details were due to be finalised this autumn. Elsewhere, the World Bank is developing solar parks with 150 MW of PV and 200 MWh of battery storage in Mali and Burkina Faso, the largest in the region. Other World Bank projects include a combined solar and battery storage project in the Gambia.
High Atlas Mountains, Noor’s first phase opened in 2016, generating enough electricity to supply 650,000 people. Its solar panels track the sun, concentrating rays onto synthetic oil running through pipes. This liquid is then heated to 350°C, creating water vapour that drives a turbine-powered generator. The latter phase is made up of a single large tower surrounded by thousands of flat mirrors that track and reflect solar rays towards a receiver at its top. Molten salts inside capture and store the heat. Southern solar expansion At the tip of the continent, South Africa has developed several major plants. They include the De Aar project, developed by Solar Capital, which has an installed capacity of 175 MW. The first phase was commissioned in 2014 and became operational in 2016. It was backed by the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme and supplies green power to 100,000 homes. South Africa’s PV market is booming and is predicted to reach an installed capacity of more than 3.6 GW by 2026, up from 1.5 GW in 2019. This success has, by all accounts, been stimulated by government initiatives, as well as the falling price of PV modules and systems. Yet South Africa remains plagued by outages as demand for continuous power increases. It’s a familiar story across Africa. In Tanzania, for example, one analyst calculates that electricity outages cost local businesses around 15% of sales. There is also a disruptive impact on community facilities – hence the growth of off-grid solar to power schools, hospitals and health centres. In 2019, the World Bank granted Tanzania’s government $4.5mn to help fund a sustainable water supply via improved solar pumping systems in rural villages. Having the means to store power is crucial. In 2018, the World Bank announced it would commit $1bn for a seven-year programme to triple investment in battery storage in developing and middle-income countries. Its backing was expected to draw in a further $4bn of public and private investments, sufficient to finance 17.5 GWh of storage by 2025. Earlier this year, South Africa awarded preferred bidder status to Norwegian renewable energy developer and producer Scatec for 540 MW of solar projects along with 225 MW of battery storage. This is to be a three-stage scheme built across Northern Cape Province.
Over 120mn African households lack access to reliable and affordable energy and 60mn could remain without electricity by 2030 unless action is taken
example, aggregated purchase of solar home systems can cut costs and give low-income communities and refugees swift access to reliable energy. The EIB is supporting eight off-grid projects and last year provided €5mn for private and public investment in Chad, Comoros, Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda. Togo, meanwhile, is electrifying rural areas through off-grid solar at national level via its CIZO programme (‘cizo’ means ‘light up’ in Mina, a Togolese language). Here, the World Bank has funded support for the private sector. Besides powering community facilities through standalone solar, there is also a drive to increase the number of small farms using renewable energy.
Pay as you go Under the CIZO scheme, households receive their power via smart mini grids. A pay as you go (PAYG) platform has been created to Clearing hurdles integrate payments and data Finding a way to fast-track storage and solar in Africa is key, given that collection. In fact, mobile moneyenabled digital payments have both technologies have fallen in become central to the off-grid price and installation times have improved. Katrien Hinderdael, who energy sector – a rapid expansion of PAYG solar home systems across has worked with the US Trade and Development Agency’s sub-Saharan Africa enables customers without bank accounts to pay remotely team, has called for a regulatory and securely. The systems can also system to encourage expansion. She believes such a system it would monitor customer consumption stimulate market competition along and tailor repayment plans. Malawi is another country with local, private and government where PAYG is taking root. Since investment. 2018, the government’s energy ‘It must attract foreign policy has focused on off-grid investment, and regulators must solutions to tackle a shockingly low understand the technology to… catalyse deployment,’ she says. But, level of electrification –11% overall and just 4% in rural areas. Its solar she adds, there’s a lack of such home systems initiative (SHS), knowledge in some African besides increasing access, also aims governments ‘as regulators are to support private sector business mainly politicians.’ offering operational support, capital In the summer, the European and financing. Investment Bank (EIB) and SHS has received $2mn from International Solar Alliance USAID. Various companies such as surveyed obstacles to widespread development of off-grid solar. Their SolarWorks, Vitalite, Yellow Solar and Zuwa Energy aim to deliver report estimated that over 120mn off-grid electricity to more 100,000 African households lack access to Malawian households before 2023. reliable and affordable energy, and Financial backers include the 60mn could remain without government and national banks. electricity by 2030 unless action is Energy providers include pay-astaken. you-go service M-PAYG, which The study focused on detailed targets low-income households. consultations in Uganda, Rwanda Scratch the surface of most and Nigeria. It found that countries across Africa and you will investment challenges – find a story of off-grid solar and affordability, working capital and battery storage helping the exchange rate risks – along with neediest. But the demand for more political and economic stability is immense. The answer to Africa’s often scared off the private sector. But, the report added, hurdles could needs is sitting in the sky. But harnessing solar power on Earth so be overcome through combining everyone can benefit remains a commercial financing and support from development finance partners. huge challenge. l Successful local initiatives offered some pointers – how, for Energy World | November 2021 17
Energy transition
TECHNOLOGY
Innovation and market disruption challenge today is the energy transition. There are big and small innovations in every area, which by definition require small steps every day. Innovation also leads to more CO2 reduction and the key area of innovation will be to digitise our full ecosystems.’ He emphasised that ‘sustainability means electrification, and particularly renewable electrification with hydrogen development from renewable sources at scale.’ However: ‘building this ecosystem will require significant finance and demographics, which is a major challenge to reach E.ON’s target of net zero by 2045 or sooner,’ noted Birnbaum.
The three-day E.ON Innovation conference offered copious comment and strategies for transforming the energy market, from distributed power and renewables to new market design and digitalisation. Brian Davis reports.
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very aspect of the energy spectrum is changing in the drive for a more sustainable future. The energy market is being transformed, with the move to distributed power, new sources of energy like blue and green hydrogen, decarbonisation and digitalisation. Innovation is key. So, it was with eager anticipation that I attended the E.ON Innovation conference in early October, in the guise of a robot avatar at a threeday virtual event, rather than winging my way to Dortmund, Germany. Given there were 83 speakers and 1,250 minutes of live streaming of Europe’s largest virtual energy event, this report focuses on some of the key themes, although there was food for thought in nearly every session. Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON set the picture. ‘The biggest
24 Energy World | November 2021
The virtual world of the E.ON Innovation event was a gateway to discussions on every aspect of energy market transformation Photo: E.ON Innovation
Interconnection is about sustainability ‘E.ON has completely transformed its business to prepare for a carbon neutral world,’ explained Thomas König, Chief Operating Officer for Networks at E.ON. But how are connectivity and sustainability linked? Konig drew attention to the extreme heat and floods that hit many countries across the globe this summer and reflected: ‘There’s no doubt these disasters are man-made. It has become more critical than ever to drastically reduce our CO2 emissions and live sustainably. At the same time, the flood disaster in Germany showed the importance of connectivity, as 200,000 people were temporarily without power. Fortunately, customers were reconnected in record time, due to collaboration, creating new solutions and support from other countries.’ Konig sees networks as the common denominator today. ‘Every new connection of renewable energy sources replacing fossil fuel brings us closer to the Paris Agreement goals,’ he commented. The traditional relationship between energy suppliers and users is changing. With more and more people producing their own green electricity, using solar panels and onsite storage, E.ON has coined
the name for these flexible consumers as ‘flexsumers’. Orchestrating interconnection of flexsumers with the grid requires a high degree of coordination and automation. The number of connected devices is forecast to increase to 500bn by 2030. ‘Digitalisation is key to our future – optimising the capacity of distribution systems to ensure energy supply security and make power distribution observable and steerable across all voltage levels,’ he said. Numerous opportunities are offered by digitalisation throughout the entire value chain, from intelligent network planning and efficient operation of energy networks to new digital solutions for customers. Indeed, E.ON is focused on building a single digital platform for its entire network business across Europe, linking all its efforts and bundling solutions for customers and network businesses. ‘You can no longer talk about the distributed grid without talking about renewable energy systems and all the regulations coming,’ remarked Benjamin Jambor, Director of Regional Grids at Westnetz and CEO/Founder of grid solution provider Digikoo. ‘The grid is no longer linear but raises increasing questions about the connection of PV [photovoltaics], wind turbines, etc. It’s about balancing and looking towards sustainability goals.’ ‘This is the era of electrification, with a significant increase of customers wanting to connect to the grid,’ added Johan Mörnstam, Senior Vice President of E.ON Energy Networks in Europe. Industries also want to electrify and decarbonise, with new customers coming like datacentres and battery factories consuming a vast amount of electricity, along with electrification of transport.’ He mentioned that Volvo and other truck manufacturers predict that 50% of new truck sales globally will be EVs by 2030. ‘Everything is about innovation,’ continued Mörnstam. Examples of new E.ON innovation include a
Energy transition
large-scale battery solution in Hungary; the introduction of a new digital trading platform in Sweden, to increase the grid utilisation factor; and use of drones to survey the grid more efficiently. E.ON is also seeking to use a mountain of data with artificial intelligence (AI) to create self-healing grids. So, what’s the scale of the challenge? E.ON has over 50mn customers and operates a 1.4mn km electricity grid with over 800,000 distributed energy producing assets connected to this grid. ‘Billions more assets will be joining the grid,’ explained Sebastian Weber, Chief Technology Officer, E.ON. ‘Managing this complexity is where innovation will happen. Quantum computing, for example, will be utilised in the future, given the number of parameters. But it’s just the beginning of the journey.’ There is a fundamental drive towards harmonisation on the application landscape, with a move to put all datacentres on the cloud by 2023, to drive flexibility and scalability as well as reducing CO2 emissions. Smart meters are also being rolled out across Europe. And E.ON recently invested in a majority stake in gridX, an AI-based energy load management start-up focused on the micro-grid level. The end of centralised markets? A cross-sector panel discussed the future of electricity markets. Alana Kühne, Head of PPAs (power purchase agreements) and Merchant Products at Ørsted has developed the first ‘merchant windfarm’ in Germany. ‘This presented a new challenge, as in the past a lot of development relied on subsidies of long-term investment plans. We are now open to the actual power markets and have to look for alternative routes to get the long-term certainty we need as investors in renewable energy generation, and to deal with the volatility in power markets.’ Kühne admitted: ‘We can’t get that [certainty] alone from the central energy markets. One of the routes we’ve been pursuing is to sign long-term corporate PPAs that provide us with a foundation on some of the revenues coming over the years, before we invest in very large projects… There will be different risk mitigation options for offshore wind and solar [projects] in the European markets as we move forward,’ she remarked. Are we looking at the end of central energy markets? ‘That’s not how I see it!’ declared Tobias Paulun, Chief Strategy Officer of the European Energy Exchange, Leipzig. ‘We are heading into a new
Interconnection panel (left to right): Johan Mörnstam, Senior Vice President, E.ON Energy Networks in Europe; Sebastian Weber, Chief Technology Officer, E.ON; Benjamin Jambor, CEO, Founder Digikoo; and moderator Christoph Burkhardt, journalist Photo: Sven Adrian/E.ON Innovation
era of power trading. In past years, the power markets have never been stable, constant or static. They have always undergone dynamic transformation and innovation. In the long-term derivatives market, there has been a lot of product innovation, with a steady increase of trading activity on the intra-day markets. I do not see an end to this trend.’ Paulun reckons the power markets in Europe have reached the next level of maturity, which should stimulate new players, like global commodity traders, providing additional liquidity and competition to existing players. Given the expected doubling of renewables capacity in Germany, for example, in the next 10 years and possible tripling within 15 years, Axel Gerhardy MD of E.ON Energy Markets, asked if there would be ‘cannibalisation of renewables’ if all the projects run in parallel. Ørsted’s Kühne considered there was little need for concern. ‘Most major renewables companies are looking at system integration going forward.’ However, she recognises the increasing complexity of handling intermittent renewables: ‘That’s where balancing comes into play as we look at the business cases for new projects and decentralised operations in the future … working towards our goal of 100% renewable generation.’ In the last few years, decentralised grid markets have come to account for 20% of trading volumes. Ewald Hesse, Co-Founder and CEO of Grid Singularity described development of a simulation platform where 1,000 players (mostly energy cooperatives) can test decentralised markets. He emphasised the importance of ‘Open Source’ technologies, which play a key role to drive competition in the new market. Decarbonisation – are we on track? ‘Decarbonising energy is at the core of fighting climate change,’ noted Dirk Swider, VP of Group Strategy
at E.ON. ‘Three quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions come from one [hydrocarbon-based] energy or the other. But reducing that is not an easy task and will require substantial changes in how energy is produced, transported and consumed.’ The European Union estimates that additional annual investment of €200bn/y will be required in coming years. ‘That is a massive challenge and great opportunity, but most of that money needs to come from private hands,’ continued Swider. Patrick Grachan, Director of climate policy thinktank Agora Energiewende, feels the energy industry is ‘on track’ when it comes to direction of moving towards climate neutrality and renewables. However, when it comes to scale and speed: ‘we’re not on track to reaching greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045,’ he stated. ‘This requires a lot more renewables to meet increasing demand and is a matter of [government] policy and companies speeding up.’ ‘We totally lack consciousness of time and ambition,’ remarked Susanne Nies, General Manager of grid optimisation company Smart Wires. ‘Although we have all the ingredients with leading technology innovation, the mindset of some people lacks speed and commitment.’ ‘The speed of transition is actually lowering when we look at permitting to get new renewables on the grid,’ complained Clemens Hecker, Managing Director of AFRY Management Consulting. Jöng Bergmann of transmission operator Open Grid Europe (OGE) pointed out that 80% of our energy system currently consists of molecules, but there will be significant adjustment over time as we decarbonise. He sees hydrogen as one of the potentially cost efficient solutions to meet climate goals, supporting security of supply and resilience of the energy system. He also mentioned recent discussions in the Hydrogen Council and the German government’s hydrogen strategy that suggest the best sectors in which to deploy hydrogen would be industry and heavy-duty transport. However, he recognised that the most challenging issue would be dealing with the heating sector. OGE is currently working on making its network hydrogen ready. H2Global also has initiatives to support ramp-up of the market for green hydrogen and its products, explained CEO Markus Exenberger. ‘The core problem is the price difference between product costs of Energy World | November 2021 25
Energy transition
clean hydrogen and its derivatives, such as ammonia, e-kerosene and methanol. Currently, these derivatives can’t be produced economically by this route, so state support is needed to address demand for very large projects.’ The German government has provided €90mn to H2Global in the first round of funding. ‘Although we have very ambitious targets and the technology is well known, what is missing is the legal and regulatory frameworks,’ he remarked. ‘Speed is of the essence’, said Valborg Lundegaard, CEO of Aker Carbon Capture, which has been awarded a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) contract for Heidelberg Cement, as part of the Norwegian full-value-chain Longship CCS project, for operation in 2024. Valborg noted that Aker has been approached for CCS projects worldwide but is currently focused on Northern Europe. Four segments have been prioritised, including cement, where emissions are hard to abate; gas-to-power; bioenergy and blue hydrogen. Aker is using the Haldor Topsoe process in partnership with a research institute and the LINCCS (linking carbon capture and storage) consortium to make
‘We are living in the age of zero – an era of exponential development, disruption and new interconnections, where we need to think differently about people, power and platforms’ Kristian Ruby, Secretary General, Eurelectric
mega-scale hydrogen plants more efficient and has tested carbon capture at a hydrogen plant run by Preem in Sweden. People, power and platforms ‘We are living in the Age of Zero,’ said Kristian Ruby, Secretary General, Eurelectric, the Federation of the European Electricity Industry. ‘It is an era of exponential development, disruption and new interconnections, where we need to think differently about people, power and platforms.’ The numbers speak for themselves. ‘The age of zero is an era of exponential development, with need for 500 GW of renewables, 30mn heat pumps and 40mn EVs... We face an unprecedented scaling of our sector, with €400bn to be invested in grids in Europe over the next 10 years.’ ‘We call 18 to 20-year-olds Generation Z, which stands for zero. They’ve grown up in an era since 2000 where nearly every year was a heat record and an emission record. No wonder they care about their carbon footprint. All they have seen is political failure and failure to align with the science… We will see Boomers go out and Generation Z gradually take over
with different expectations for utilities,’ said Ruby. And continued: ‘40 GW of self-consumption means that PV panels will be as common as a fridge was in the 1960s. We need to think how to integrate all that new electricity and new consumers in the system. And 40mn EVs means a complete revamp of the transport segment. Maritime is the new kid on the block and will be included in the ETS [European Emissions Trading System] by 2023. By 2030, all major ships docking in Europe will be required to source their energy from clean shore power, and radically reduce GHG intensities by 2050.’ ‘In the age of zero, electricity is the lifeblood not only of households but also the broad economy. We need to go from silo thinking to sector integration and think differently about platforms… The hardware is getting stronger, the software smarter, and the networks better.’ l
17-18 November 2021, virtual conference
This conference will: • Building renewables in a safe and sustainable way
Bring the renewable energy community together
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Sound health, safety and sustainability performance will be vital to renewable technologies’ ability to gain public, investor and wider industrial/ commercial confidence.
Demonstrate case studies on how to become safer and manage health, wellbeing, and sustainability
•
Raise awareness of global good practice and standards within the renewable sector
During this conference expert speakers will be sharing international best practice to manage and control these hazards more effectively.
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Transport
AVIATION
Rethinking flight I n 1988, as the Cold War was drawing to a close, the Soviet Union successfully tested a hydrogen-powered airliner – to very little fanfare in the international press. The plane’s designer, Aleksei Tupolev, was quoted as saying its engine was, unlike traditional jet engines, ‘absolutely ecologically pure’. An article published in The New York Times claimed that the Soviet invention would ‘revive’ US interest in hydrogen as a fuel. However, the low cost of kerosene meant that global airline operators would not need to consider alternative fuels for several decades – until the issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions became impossible to ignore.
Fuel cell flying Today it appears as though hydrogen-powered planes are no longer one-off engineering novelties but genuine commercial necessities. Though the technology is still in its infancy, several major companies have been willing to throw their weight behind the concept of hydrogen as an aviation fuel, most notably Airbus. The French firm currently has engineers working on a number of different zero-emission concepts that feature hydrogen as a power source. Guillaume Faury, Airbus’s CEO, has estimated that a hydrogen plane could realistically enter service by 2035. Some smaller operators have already managed to get their fuel-cell powered planes off the ground, including the Californiabased startup ZeroAvia, which completed a short test flight with its six-seater design last year. In December 2020, it was announced that the company had secured £12mn in UK government funding to help it develop a 19-seat fuel cell aircraft by 2023, in partnership with the European Marine Energy Centre and Aeristech. According to the consortium, its goal is to ‘make zero carbon flight over meaningful distances a reality for passengers’. Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) – a subsidiary of the UK’s Cranfield University – is in the process of designing a hydrogen fuel cell solution that can be retrofitted to existing aircraft. In September, the company completed the purchase of a Britten-Norman Islander, a small aircraft designed to operate on regional routes. It 28 Energy World | November 2021
Airlines plan to cater to ever more passengers in the coming decades. They also say they’re investing in new technologies to reduce their environmental impact. Jennifer Johnson looks at whether these aims can coexist. large commercial aircraft. Meanwhile, the energy density of liquid hydrogen is only about one quarter of that of conventional jet fuel – meaning that aircraft may have to accommodate fewer passengers to make room for large storage tanks. These design issues won’t be easily overcome. The largest battery-powered plane to have flown to date was a Cessna Grand Caravan, which completed a test flight in Washington state last year. The eCaravan, as it’s known, has over 900 kg of lithium-ion batteries on board, as well as a 15 m wingspan and room for nine passengers. UK budget airline easyJet is hoping to up the stakes significantly and get a 186-seat battery aircraft, designed by partner Wright Electric, into regular operation by 2030. Though larger than other models currently under development, easyJet still intends for these planes to fly short routes of around 500 km – such as London to Paris or Amsterdam.
intends to outfit the plane with a hydrogen powertrain and test it in 2023. Like ZeroAvia, CAes also hopes to produce a commercially viable 19-seat hydrogen aircraft, before setting its sights on higher capacity regional planes. Betting on batteries While hydrogen fuel cells hold significant promise for the aviation sector, some manufacturers are betting on more traditional battery powertrains instead. Rolls-Royce is one such firm. Its all-electric plane, the Spirit of Innovation, took off from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down site on 15 September this year and flew for 15 minutes. The lithium-ion battery that powers the plane is made up of 6,000 cells and features a cooling system that Rolls-Royce says ‘can withstand the extreme temperatures and high-current demands during flight’. In the short term, Rolls-Royce is aiming for its ACCEL battery to power a flight at speeds of over 480 km/h. Further into the future, the firm hopes the solution will serve as the cornerstone of new forms of urban mobility, such as ‘air taxi’ services. It’s notable, however, that very few aerospace developers are trying to get any kind of zero emission jetliner off the ground before 2030. This is because lithium-ion batteries are still too heavy to be reasonably fitted to a
The 186-seat Wright 1 plane could be used by airline easyJet for regional routes from 2030 Photo: Wright Electric
The jetliner problem The largest passenger jets in operation today can carry some 500 passengers. Engineers have a complex task ahead of them when it comes to designing zero-emission aircraft with similar capacities. In this regard, Boeing has taken a different tack to rival Airbus and announced that its jetliners will be
Transport
The largest battery-powered plane to have flown to date was a Cessna Grand Caravan, which has over 900 kg of lithium-ion batteries on board, as well as a 15 m wingspan
certified to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030. The company claims SAF can today reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle with the potential to reach 100% in the future. ‘Sustainable aviation fuels are the safest and most measurable solution to reduce aviation carbon emissions in the coming decades,’ said a statement by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal. ‘We’re committed to working with regulators, engine companies and other key stakeholders to ensure our airplanes and eventually our industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels.’ The potential feedstocks for Boeing’s jet fuels include non-edible plants, agricultural and forestry wastes, non-recyclable household waste and industrial plant offgassing. But as with other biofuels, it is crucial to ensure these feedstocks are sustainable and available in the necessary quantities. This September, more than 50 airlines and oil companies – including BP, Boeing and Delta Airlines – promised to replace 10% of global jet fuel supply with SAF by 2030. The next few years will determine whether this is a goal that can be realised, and an industry
that can be scaled up. There’s little doubt that both Airbus’ and Boeing’s chosen routes to decarbonisation are ambitious – and significant doubts remain about whether they’re even achievable. Aerospace consultant Richard Aboulafia told Bloomberg that Airbus’ 2035 hydrogen plane target was ‘a fable’. For now, zero-emission technologies can only
be found on small aircraft travelling short distances. At the same time, passenger demand for flights is projected to skyrocket in the coming years. The aviation industry has precious little time to resolve the tensions between growing its business and shrinking its emissions. ●
Policy incentives Even in the most optimistic scenarios, the full commercialisation of zero carbon flight is still well over a decade away – which is why some environmental groups argue that it’s necessary to curtail demand for flights in the short term. Domestic flights have become a particular target for campaigners in the UK, as they produce as much as seven times more GHG emissions than an equivalent journey by train. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) urged the government not to cut taxes on domestic flights in its upcoming budget, as doing so would make a ‘mockery of our climate commitments ahead of COP26’. It also called for policymakers to ban domestic flights where the equivalent train journey takes less than five hours, and subsidise rail journeys to make them more affordable for passengers. The think tank Transport & Environment (T&E) made a series of related suggestions in its response to the questions posed by the government’s recent ‘Jet Zero’ consultation. But instead of banning domestic air travel, it suggested that the country should focus on converting all UK-only flights to zero emissions planes in the shortest time possible. T&E suggested that, like Norway, the UK should aim for a zero carbon domestic aviation market by 2040. In the meantime, taxes on kerosene and a mandate to use sustainable aviation fuels wherever possible could also cut emissions.
