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The Future of Air Travel is among us
Will there ever be a way to fly guilt-free? Rolls-Royce seem to think so.
Ed Carter
The Future of Air Travel is among us: Text
According to the European Union (EU), the airline industry accounts for 2-3% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. These emissions are set to triple by 2020 due to the increase in number of flights and accessibility of flights. Unfortunately, advancements in technology have been slow to reduce carbon emissions and only carbon offsetting has been used to combat emissions caused by planes until now.
Rolls-Royce has teamed up with Airbus and Siemens to combat the current climate crisis by manufacturing the hybrid plane known as E-Fan X Hybrid Electric Demonstrator. Rolls-Royce’s Systems Design Integration Engineer, Alistair Roberts states that the aim of the E-Fan X ‘is to demonstrate the technology required to meet the EU technical environmental goals of the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 Vision for Aviation’. The EU’s goals are to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 75% by 2050 while reducing nitrogen oxide (NO) by 90% and noise by 65%.
The Future of Air Travel is among us: Text
The Future of Air Travel is among us: Image
Hybrid planes are aeroplanes that have battery powered and conventional, fossil fuel powered engines. E-Fan X will use conventional power for take-off and electrical power to maintain cruising altitude. Roberts goes on to say, ‘A hybrid plane is more environmentally friendly, since it avoids high altitude emissions of CO2 and NO’. This will reduce both greenhouse and non-greenhouse gases in general, but electrical power will eliminate emissions where they are most damaging.
Not only will hybrid planes be more environmentally friendly, they’ll be cheaper to travel on. Roberts states that ‘electricity can be produced in a carbon neutral manner and at a lower cost, where the engine is able to recharge the batteries or through some regenerative braking’. Regenerative braking is when an electric motor converts kinetic energy when a vehicle slows down into electrical energy.
E-Fan X aims to fly in 2021 as a demonstrator aircraft, meaning it is only showcasing the current developments in electrical flight. Roberts suggested that producing a large hybrid passenger aircraft will take some time and will require large, more efficient batteries to increase the range of the aircraft. That being said, Norweigan airline Wideroe has partnered with Roll-Royce to electrify its fleet of regional airplanes by 2030. This is in light of Norway’s plans to have carbon free domestic air transport by 2030. So, if you’re planning to travel around Norway – look out for Wideroe.
There has been some success in producing an all-electric aircraft. In the Pacific Northwest, they’re one step ahead, Harbour Air and MagniX have been successful in flying the first ever all-electric seaplane and will now be an all-electric airline. A converted six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver made its first test flight last year and has a range of 100 miles and will be used to make routine flights around the Pacific Northwest.
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The Future of Air Travel is among us: Text
The Future of Air Travel is among us: Image
A new era of sustainable air travel is among us and companies like Rolls-Royce and Harbour Air are pioneering this movement. It is possible to travel low carbon and there are ways to travel with existing airlines that travel as sustainably as possible. These companies use more efficient engines and more efficient fuels. Flight is not always essential when travelling, there are other alternatives to flying but there are companies that are making a difference to produce a more sustainable future. More information can be found here.
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The Future of Air Travel is among us: Text
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