In our Farnborough video series, ATAG's Executive Director Paul Steele discusses how the industry is collaborating around green aviation in the same way it did around safety. He also touches on the Farnborough debut of the Boeing 787, which in addition to the Airbus A380, represents the future of long-haul flying and a milestone in green aviation - both aircraft are made of lighter weight composites, feature more aerodynamic design and fuel efficient engines. Learn more in the video...
Plane Talking
Recently in Research Category
I have just returned from Montreal, where I met with a number of colleagues from across the aviation sector at the ICAO Environment Colloquium. Hélène Gagnon, one of our Board members from airframe manufacturer Bombardier, explains about the colloquium in this video:
Hélène mentions our industry targets and goals in that video. One of them, to reduce our emission to half of what they were in 2005, by the year 2050 (despite growth in air travel), is an incredibly ambitious goal. But we are confident we can get there. Part of the goal will require a large upswing in the amount of sustainable biofuel we use. But a lot of the reduction in emissions will come with radical new technologies, some of which were presented recently...
Another colleague from the industry was also in Montreal - Carl Burleson from the FAA. He has just reviewed a set of new proposals from the design and future thinking powerhouse at MIT. Their radical new aircraft designs, presented as part of a NASA project, could result in significant savings of carbon emissions:
The D Series
This aircraft uses a double tube design (basically like joining two current aircraft fuselages next to each other and then adding wings) and new engine technology to produce an aircraft that could fly with 70% less emissions than current models. The structure has a very wide fuselage to provide extra lift. The aircraft would be used for domestic flights to carry 180 passengers for replacement of current narrow body aircraft.
The H Series
The MIT team also presented NASA with its design for the H “hybrid wing body” series to replace the widebody aircraft now used for international flights. The design features a triangular-shaped hybrid wing body aircraft that blends a wider fuselage with the wings for improved aerodyamics. The large centre body creates a forward lift that eliminates the need for a tail to balance the aircraft. The plane is designed to carry 350 passengers.
Now they look pretty cool, but perhaps the MIT guys could also work on better and more inspirational names!! Can you think of any?
Heathrow airport has been working on their latest initiative designed to cut emissions at the same time as improving the comfort and convenience at the airport. This initiative comes in the form of the Urban Light Transport (ULTra) – “a personal rapid transit” system in the form of driverless, electrically-powered "taxi pods" which transport people and their luggage to Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. The ULTra taxi pods run on their own infrastructure, similar to that of a monorail system and have impressive environmental credentials, offering low emissions, a high level of service, efficient use of space and good value for money. But they do not only sound like something from the future, they actually look like something from a science fiction film. The idea being, to a certain extent, that if the ULTra is going to be around for years to come, its design will have to withstand the test of time!!
Elsewhere at Swansea University scientists have been researching into the aviation fuel of the future – microalgae. These scientists are undertaking a project using algae to create oil from seaweed, and have found that one particular type of algae, a microalgae named Botryococcus braunii algae, can produce particularly high levels of oil – around 50 to 140 tonnes of oil per hectare, compared to biofuel ethanol, which produces about 0.2 tonnes of oil equivalent, and rapeseed which generates around 1.2 tonnes. They are hoping that with their developments, the commercialization of biofuel across Wales will pick-up, especially as businesses become increasingly aware of the problems of relying on our resources of fossil fuels which are rapidly running-out and are known to contribute substantially to global warming.
And finally, to the air traffic management of the future… at ATC Global in Amsterdam on Wednesday, the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) presented results from the European flight demonstrations performed in the framework of the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE). The AIRE project looked at inexpensive ways in which airlines, airports and aviation regulators in the U.S. and Europe can cut fuel consumption, carbon emissions and flight times by cooperating more effectively on air traffic management. Whilst undertaking this project, which was designed essentially to test the feasibility of implementing such procedures, engineers were also able to measure concrete fuel and CO2 savings from these procedures. And the results…? Pretty promising! The improvements show savings of more than 400 tons of CO2 on the test flights, which is about the equivalent of the annual CO2 emission of 100 passenger cars!
On Wednesday last week, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, made his maiden official visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he talked about renewable energy and carbon emissions. Chu talked at length about the importance of developing and deploying renewable energy, including algae for biofuels. He emphasised the huge progress that was being made by UAE in this area, and the real potential this is showing. Chu was also keen to outline the necessity of improving energy efficiency if we are to adapt to our changing world where over-consumption of energy not only causes climate change issues, but draws hugely on depleting sources. Energy efficiency is an area on which the aviation industry has been working hard, with efforts being focused on redesigning engines, aircraft and even the flight routes to reduce fuel consumption. Chu gave a brilliant example of what innovation can achieve by comparing the Boeing 777 with the Bar-tailed Godwit. The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader bird which makes the longest known non-stop flight – 11,000 km – of any bird and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The aeroplane does the same (substituting the animal with fuel, of course!) and without using up all their energy!
This practice of taking inspiration for man-made design directly from nature is called biomimicry. It is the idea that using knowledge of biological adaptations, we can solve design and engineering challenges sustainably. Comparing birds to aircraft seems like a logical one – both are designed to fly long distances, using as little energy as possible and allowing for a comfortable ride. Hence, aircraft manufacturers are happy take their top tips from Mother Nature when thinking about new aircraft design.
Another example of this comes from a group of researchers at Stanford University. On discovery that birds are able to boost the distance they can fly by more than 70% though the use of the V-shape formation (pictured to the right), the researchers thought to apply the same tactic to planes. In this formation, a bird in front (or plane) creates a small updraft that lifts the bird behind. As each bird passes, they add their own energy to the stroke helping all the birds maintain flight. By travelling in a V-shape with planes taking turns in front as birds do, these researchers believe aircraft could use 15% less fuel compared to flying solo. Of course, this is a great theory, but in reality it may prove to be difficult to achieve for commercial flights - rarely do a 'flock' of aircraft all want to go to the same destination at the same time. But such research can lead to any number of discoveries with future applications.
Below is a video of Janine Benyus, a American natural sciences writer, giving a talk on biomimicry last August. She offers an inspiring analysis of how much nature can teach us about science and design, and indeed dating… listen out for the courtship dance of the Western Grebe!
While some 15,000 delegates make their way here for the Copenhagen Climate Talks which start tomorrow, back in Switzerland something else was happening...
One of the topics under discussion amongst delegates here is breakthrough technology that can really change the way we operate. In aviation, we are working on a number of these technologies: advanced second-generation biofuels, new airframe designs and potentially new ways to power aircraft systems. One such exploration is solar power.
A team in Switzerland, led by the inimitable Bertrand Piccard, has constructed Solar Impulse - a plane that will in the next couple of years, complete an around-the-world flight powered by nothing more than solar energy.
This week, the aircraft made its first steps towards that flight by getting airborne for the first time. This video shows the event which, to my eyes, is reminiscent of the old Wright Brothers footage from Kitty Hawke (although the camera technology has moved on just a little bit!).
Now, we don't think that solar energy will be enough to power commercial flights, but there are all sorts of on-board systems like air conditioning or in-flight entertainment that could use solar energy. We'll be keeping an eye on Solar Impulse as it starts flying more confidently.
The Airport Operators Association released a report this week, which details the contribution of aviation to the UK economy.
The aviation industry itself is calculated as accounting for 141,000 jobs in the UK – which increases to 234,000 jobs when considering supply chain employment. What’s more, the labour productivity is around 35% per employee higher than the UK average: £62,000 GVA per employee versus the £46,000 average.
But what does this mean for the economy? In terms of direct benefits, the aviation sector generates £8.8 billion of UK economic output (measured as GVA), or 0.7% of the total GVA of the UK economy. This figure increases to 18.4 billion (1.5%) when the economic activity needed to supply the inputs purchased by the sector is taken into account. The sector also contributes directly around £4.8 billion of revenue to the Exchequer, (0.9% of UK overall tax revenue in 2007/08), with an additional £3 billion via its supply chain.
The report also takes time to look into benefits brought from further afield, by considering the codependency between aviation and other sectors such as trade and tourism. These sectors are evidently of great importance to aviation, but equally, without air travel, these sectors would also suffer!
However, analyses within the report demonstrate that the industry has been unfairly targeted in the UK with regards to the punitive measures it has received. Calculations show that in fact aviation is paying more than its fair share in ‘green taxes’ when compared with its environmental impact, and this is set to increase even further. In 2007, the annual tax and regulatory burden on the aviation sector exceeded the amount aviation should have been paying due to any impacts the industry may have on the environment (measured through carbon emissions costs, noise and local air quality) by up to £0.6 billion. This is expected to rise to £0.7 – £1.1 billion by 2012 as a result of the hike in Air Passenger Duty planned by the UK government.
Effort has been truly industry-wide this week, with praise due across the board from engine manufacturers to airports for their improvements in regards to their environmental performance.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has been named the Air Navigation Services Provider of the Year by the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation. CAAS has been recognised for its achievements in operational efficiencies that improve fuel efficiency thus reducing costs and emissions, such as the improved management and shortening of routes.
DFW International Airport in Texas has also been reducing emissions and has been recognised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts. The airport was recently pushed up to number 11 in the EPA’s top 20 Local Government List of the largest green power purchasers. The airport purchases nearly 53 million kWh of green power per year, which is enough to meet 18% of the organization’s purchased electricity use. According to the EPA, this is equivalent to avoiding the CO2 emissions of nearly 7,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 5,000 average American homes annually.
Frankfurt Airport looks set to make improvements in this area as well. A project has been launched to look into the potential of the Walldorf deep-earth geothermal field as resource for renewable energy. If all goes well, the partners will construct a hybrid power plant, which will use geothermal power and biogas to produce electricity and heat which will then be used to supply Frankfurt Airport with renewable energy, so fingers crossed!
And finally, Rolls Royce won a contract this week with Virgin Atlantic to power ten of the carriers’ aircraft with its state of the art Trent 700 engines. Six of the aircraft that are to be supplied are Airbus model A330’s, which will feature an enhanced performance version of the Trent 700… and what does that mean? These enhanced Trent 700’s improve engine fuel burn by a further 1.3% over the regular models, helping Virgin Atlantic’s to pursue its mission to fly a modern fleet with the most fuel efficient technology available.
In other news, the Doha Aviation Summit2009 this week brought together internationally recognised associations, civil aviation authorities, ministries of aviation, airports, airlines and leading service providers to discuss various current issues the industry is facing. Much time was dedicated to the industry’s action on tackling environmental issues, with input in particular from Christohpe Cros from Airbus, who offered advice to the aviation market on new technology that lowers emissions and works towards a carbon neutral aviation industry. The conference suitably concluded with a 'Green Aviation' day where panelists discussed the carbon free future of aviation providing different perspective on development and deployment of new technologies, efficient usage of infrastructure, progress and utilisation of alternative fuels and the role of the government and institutional bodies in ensuring the carbon neutral growth.
From the enticingly-named Boeing "Phantom Works" team we learn of some work being carried out on a new type of aircraft fuselage - the so-called "blended wing". It's probably easier to show you what it looks like rather than try to describe it:
This is one of the first operational prototype aircraft in an entirely new way to think about building aircraft. Although our industry has made some pretty amazing technological leaps over the past hundred years and the latest aircraft may be built from entirely different materials, the overall design is still basically the same - a long tube with wings and a tail.
The blended wing is one potential option to change this - and entirely re-think the aerodynamics and fuel efficiency of passenger aircraft in the future. There are other options on plane designer drawing boards (we've talked about them before), but this option is the latest to be involved in actual flight trials. The smaller-than-life scale model called the X-48B is being tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Check out the Wired.com piece on the trials, with a set of photos of the plane. Although the end result in a few decades may not look quite like this, it is another step on the way towards a new aircraft type.
One witty commentor at Wired.com said: "What is this? A plane for ants? It needs to be… at least 3 times this big!!!" (a reference to this scene from the hit movie Zoolander). Hopefully it will be at some point in the future. It is this type of extremely high-end technology that will be part of our effort to reduce aviation emissions by 2050 to half of what they were in 2005.
We wrote last week about the first commercial flight to use a new gas-to-liquid fuel - CNN's Ayesha Durgahee was on that flight and filed this report:
It’s all happening in the Far East this week, where some significant alliances have been achieved with regards to the aviation sector.
China, for example, is expected to become Boeing’s research and development partner for environmentally friendly technologies designed to improve the environmental performance of aircraft. A key part of their partnership will be to develop biofuels, with a near term plan expected to involve the commercialisation of jatropha. China itself has impressive resources of jatropha and other biofuel feedstocks– by 2020 it is expecting to have developed 13 million hectares of biofuel plantations; that’s enough to yield 6 million tonnes of biodiesel annually.
Travelling a little further East and Japan has just recently become the latest member of ASPIRE – an initiative focused on improving the efficiency of aircraft operations with the ultimate aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Being a big player in the aviation industry, Japan’s move to join ASPIRE represents a big step up in collective efforts to limit the industry’s environmental impact. To mark this event, Japan Airlines completed the latest ASPIRE flight demonstration – a flight from Honolulu to Osaka which included the most efficient, advanced technologies and procedures; including just-in-time fueling, preferred routes over the ocean, optimising speed and altitude and using a tailored-arrival approach to the destination airport.
Gulf Air is also making moves to maximize efficiency as it officially begins its fleet renewal programme for Airbus with the arrival of the first 10 A320’s, which will replace the older narrow-body aircrafts. Airbus’ innovations and performance advances have made the aircraft more operationally efficient, reducing costs and fuel burn which allows for better environmental performance. And the A320’s also have a special feature… they use a chromate-free paint which requires 15% less paint when applied to the aircraft, resulting in lighter aircraft, less fuel burn and so ultimately less aircraft CO2 emissions – clever thinking!
