At this year's Berlin and Farnborough Air Shows, EADS showcased the world's first flight of an aircraft powered by pure biofuel made from algae. To great acclaim, a Diamond DA42 New Generation aircraft powered by two Austro AE300 engines took part in the daily flight demonstrations.

 
Only minor modifications and adjustments have to be made to the aircraft to run on algae based biofuel and consumption is lower compared to conventional JET-A1 fuel due to its high energy content.

"All other demonstrations with third-generation biofuel have been done with blends," said EADS research and technology chief Jean Botti. "This is the first time anyone has done it with 100% biofuel." Bench tests with algae biofuel in the AE300 engine indicate fuel savings of 5-10% over kerosene as the biofuel burns more efficiently. "We are amazed that it had better combustion than kerosene," added Botti.

Such developments are a good match with the efficiency goals set by IATA which include an average improvement in fuel efficiency of 1.5% per year to 2020, a cap on aviation CO2 emissions from 2020 to ensure carbon-neutral growth and a goal to reduce CO2 emissions 50% by 2050 compared to 2005.

EADS, its partners and many other companies are currently researching further to support the growth of an algae-powered industry. Cost efficiency is key in the immediate future: currently it is more expensive to produce fuel from algae in comparison to sourcing crude oil. So if algae-based fuel is to compete with kerosene, research and development work must aim to establish an effective mass production to ensure availability in the near future.

Another research project spearheaded by EADS is a concept helicopter featuring a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. With the potential to halve fuel consumption compared to a typical twin-turbine helicopter, it uses two opposed piston opposed cylinder diesel engines supplied by EcoMotors International of the USA to generate electrical power for the main and tail rotors.

The engines alone are around 30% more fuel efficient than today's turbine engines, while other weight savings and aerodynamic improvements facilitated by the hybrid architecture increase the total potential fuel saving to 50%, says EADS.

Did you know that by shifting the load of bags and cargo in the hold of an aircraft can reduce fuel use in the flight by as much as half a percent? Or that one airport has saved 33,000 tonnes of CO2 each year by installing fixed electrical ground power? Or that the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903 travelled around 37 metres, but that aircraft today are built to fly over 15 million metres without much effort?

These facts all demonstrate the progress that has been, and is being, made in fuel efficiency by the aviation sector. They can all be found in a new publication that we have produced called the Beginner's Guide to Aviation Efficiency.

It is a follow-up to the very successful publication Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels that we released last year. As our Executive Director, Paul Steele says: "The progress on achieving greener flights has been extraordinary. For aviation, efficiency is at the very heart of what we do on a daily basis. Fuel is expensive and heavy to carry, so airlines have long focused efforts to reduce the amount of fuel they use and aircraft makers spend a majority of their research development budgets on reducing fuel use."

It is important to point to the vast array of projects being undertaken across the industry. We try to provide a snapshot of them here on enviro.aero, but it is really quite extraordinary to discover just how many different parts of the aviation experience are focused on operational efficiency, infrastructure efficiency and, importantly, new technologies.

As Paul points out, "The technology being used today is amazing. Most passengers don't think about it, but even just looking at the engines on a modern aircraft you have some of the safest, most efficient, high-technology machines on earth... but built to withstand daily use, huge differences in temperature, lightning strikes, hail storms and the massive forces in play during flight."

When you put it that way, I think we're doing a pretty good job.

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You may have (or, let's face it, may not have) heard about the project called Single European Sky. It is a project to streamline the current national airspace boundries that have the skies over Europe split into some 30 different blocks. Currently, flights crossing the European continent have to zig-zag across a number of different control zones. With a single European control zone, millions of tonnes of carbon emissions could be reduced (not to mention time saved) by flying straighter and smarter routes.

One of the major projects that is underway to enable a single European sky is called SESAR - this is a joint European Commission and Eurocontrol effort to produce the technical capability required. And it is here that we get on to another project (and more acronyms).

SESAR has joined with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration - the US Government's aviation regulator) to run the AIRE programme (for more information on this - including what AIRE stands for - check out the video below). Today, SESAR and the FAA announced in Amsterdam the results of a year-long set of trails looking at different areas of flight operations and working with an impressive array of industry stakeholders.

Six projects were initiated, taking place in Paris (ground movements, green arrivals and departures), Madrid and Stockholm (green approaches and climbs), Portugal and Iceland (oceanic flight optimisation). In total, 1,152 flights took place during the AIRE trials in 2009. Analysis of the data collected show that 400 tonnes of CO2 could be saved by implementing these new techniques.

The Executive Director of SESAR, Patrick Ky had this to say: “The AIRE activities performed in 2009 have shown encouraging results. It is now essential that we transform them from ‘flight trials’ to ‘day-to-day operations’, in order to realise the full benefits of SESAR."

Almost as impressive as the fuel savings and all the acronyms are the group of people working on the project - over 1,400 engineers from organisations across Europe are working on various SESAR projects. In fact, over 300 projects are getting started. Collaborating on the AIRE project alone were the following industry partners: ADACEL, AENA, Aéroports de Paris, Airbus, Air France, AVTECH, DSNA, Egis Avia, Iberia, Icelandair, INECO, Isavia, LFV, Nav Portugal, Novair, TAP Portugal, TERN Systems and Thales. Just another example of impressive aviation industry coordination!

Japanese airline ANA, has been setting the standards high this month for finding original and effective ideas that cut carbon emissions. The latest addition to ANA’s innovative schemes is their unique carbon offset programme, which allows passengers to offset the impact of their flight directly through their mobile phone. Codes are printed on posters and pamphlets in airports where ANA operates for passengers to scan using their phones. They then receive information on the amount of CO2 emitted during their flight and the cost of offsetting these emissions, with an option to make a donation directly through their phone to cover these costs. Given its simplicity, this carbon offsetting scheme is expected to be a big success – predictions are that 400,000 passengers will take part in this scheme annually, resulting in a cut of 31,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

This week also saw Rolls-Royce officially introduce their newest engine from the AE 3007 series – the AE 3007A2, for use in the Embraer large executive jet, the Legacy 650. The new engine boasts superior performance than its predecessor and greater fuel efficiency, particularly over long ranges. It is expected to enter into service next year!

A UK aviation coalition including airport operators BAA, airlines BA and Virgin Atlantic and the CAA have published a new interim code of practice this week, designed to help cut aircraft emissions by reducing fuel burn from aircraft at airports. The document is technical in nature, and so primarily targeted at pilots, flight planners and airport operators who are collectively encouraged to get involved in methods such as single-engine taxiing, once safety considerations are assured. By shutting down an engine during taxi-in operations pilots are told they could achieve reductions of 20-40% of the ground level fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and 10-30% of ground NOx emissions, depending on aircraft type and operator technique.

The environmental practices that are highlighted in the document are also said to deliver significant improvements to noise and local air quality at airports and reduce costs to airlines. Thus as well as providing global environmental benefits, it delivers additional local benefits to people living and working around airports.

The voluntary set of guidelines has been published ahead of the full version of the code that is expected to be finalised early next year, which will include advice on the use of airport terminal and ground power rather than running the aircraft's auxiliary power unit, 'continuous climb departures', and collaborative decision making to deliver further improvements.

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive Officer of British Airways, addressed the Aviation and Environment Summit about best operational practice for airlines. Walsh recognised that the economy had replaced the environment as the key public concern in recent months, although he highlighted that this change did not translate into changing priorities for airlines. The environment remains a key priority for British Airways (BA) and other airlines, with the economy and environment presenting a win - win situation. Investment in fuel efficient measures (including new airplanes, route shortening, reducing the weight of aircraft, to name but a few) reduces the amount of fuel consumed, decreasing both cost and carbon dioxide emissions. Walsh added that BA aims to cut CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 and is absolutely committed to IATA's four-pillar strategy on climate change.

Anyone who doubts aviation’s desire for fuel efficiency – with the reduced emissions to go along with it – need only take a look at this report on the BBC. In its world energy outlook for 2008, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast that oil prices are back on an upward trend and may be in the region of $200 a barrel by 2030. Interestingly, the IEA claims that it is not a lack of oil that will force prices, but a lack of investment. Unsurprisingly, China and India account for most of the growth in oil consumption – a situation that will be mirrored by their aviation growth.

Last week I attended a briefing which estimated the growth in China’s aviation market at 7.9% per year for the next 20 years. By 2030 there will be around four and a half thousand planes in China, roughly the size of today’s European fleet. India’s fleet will more than triple to around 1500 planes. This demand for air transport will be led by a rapidly expanding middle class and youthful population (half of all Indians today are under 25). If these growth rates are to be reached in a high-oil-price world, then aviation is going to have to be much more fuel efficient. This is why the industry has set itself stiff targets for efficiency in the future.
 
Some people scoff at these aims, but the track record of the industry is speaks for itself. The necessity to meet these targets is clear. Perhaps the most important step will be the new generation of single-aisle aircraft which will emerge in the second half of the next decade. The number of these jets in service will more than double. Airbus and Boeing are talking about these planes offering a 15-20% improvement over their predecessors, and if these growth and oil price scenarios are accurate, they’re going to need to deliver.

- Image from Flickr user Simon Davison