Sustainability has never been higher on the aviation agenda, so what green shoots can we look for in 2022? Join us in our forward-looking horizon scan for one of the most important years in aviation.
Making aviation greener means coordination, and positive signs and substantive progress were made in 2021, with numerous highlights throughout the year. European aviation’s Destination 2050 plan and the later ATAG-driven Fly Net Zero global commitment mean that more attention than ever is being given to decarbonising the industry.
Rolls-Royce chief customer officer Ewen McDonald tells us that the company is “looking forward to a continued focus by the industry on sustainability and we are excited to see how the sector will find more innovative ways to collaborate on overcoming the challenges ahead.”
Of all the initiatives on the sustainable aviation agenda, the use of SAFs — sustainable aviation fuels, made from a variety of sources including used oils, waste, algae and more — feels like it has been making strong incremental progress on a number of fronts.
“We think there will be even more focus on ramping up the production and use of SAF, which will help aviation move towards achieving its decarbonisation goals,” McDonald says.
But the growth in sustainable fuels is just one part of the decarbonisation agenda: new engine and aircraft technologies also need to make aviation more efficient.
“We are looking forward to seeing our first UltraFan demonstrator come together and go on test in 2022,” McDonald says. “UltraFan will be 25% more efficient than the first generation of Trent engine and is a key part of our sustainability strategy.”
But sustainability isn’t just about making tomorrow’s aircraft more efficient and lower carbon. It’s about ensuring that their entire lifecycle is sustainable. At present, for example, roughly 90 per cent of an aircraft at the end of its life is recyclable, with the remaining 10 per cent being composites, insulation, and interior plastics — according to Air Transat’s senior director for environment, emissions trading schemes, and strategic projects, Keith Lawless.
Closing the loop on this final 10 per cent is certainly possible, but will require greater coordination between airlines, designers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
In just the last four months, and for just one customer, Tony Seville, managing director of the Aircraft Interior Recycling Association, tells us that AIRA has recycled 30,000kg of materials, and calculates that this has saved 60,000kg of CO2.
While new technologies around plastics recycling are just around the corner — especially for parts — enabling recyclers to branch out into that segment of the aviation ecosystem, conscious and well-informed lifecycle choices need to be made.
Seville emphasises that, “when choosing materials, the need to look at CO2 emissions from the manufacturing processes is key as this is where it all starts.” Crucial, he says, is “making sure the materials can be recycled from the manufacturing process and end of life and brought into the circular economy.”
This is particularly important in considering cabin materials for sustainability, because for various certification reasons — crash impact, fire retardancy, smoke toxicity, and others — some of the thermoplastic material used in the cabin is not recyclable, often because it is sandwiched with other material to achieve certification.
“Airlines need to challenge the OEMs on materials and not just go with the flow, and the OEMs need to know more about the materials they are using,” Seville recommends. Crucial, too, is that they “pass this information onto the airlines, so that they can make real calculated decisions on materials and CO2.”
In terms of technology, Seville says, he is looking forward to following the progress of sustainable aviation fuels, as well as the hydrogen and electric propulsion technology race. “The challenge is on, and has been on for a while — and if we can’t get this right in the next ten years, where do we go from there?”
Which is, of course, a topic we will all be keeping a very close eye on.
Author: John Walton
Published 22nd March 2022
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