Why Boris’s zero-emission long-haul British aircraft is just pie in the sky

The prime minister’s call for Jet Zero on Tuesday may owe more to his fondness for a punchy slogan than any realistic view of how UK aviation might develop in the next 30 years. His wish for the UK to build long-haul zero- emissions plane may never be achieved.  It is just not credible. Short-range electric flight is, for the very smallest planes, already a reality.  Multiple firms, including UK start-ups, are working on zero-emission eVtols – electric vertical take-off and landing craft, or flying taxis – for domestic inter-city travel, carrying just a handful of passengers. Battery weight and range means that manufacturers currently view larger electric planes as feasible only for short-haul flights – and even then the focus is largely on hybrid-electric, with jet fuel needed for take-off.  The big UK contribution to this vision, a Rolls-Royce-Airbus collaboration called the , was dropped in April. Meanwhile, work continues at Cranfield university and elsewhere, trying to convince sceptics that hydrogen could eventually be a viable fuel for passenger jets, produced using surplus (?) renewably-generated electricity. Or combined to produce an “electro-fuel” – but that still emits CO2 when burned in a plane engine.
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Why Boris’s zero emission aircraft may be mission impossible

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/30/why-boris-jet-zero-emission-aircraft-is-mission-impossible

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See also

‘Jet Zero’: PM targets world’s first ‘zero emission long haul passenger plane’ in UK

30 Jun 2020
By Joseph Flaig (Institute of Mechanical Engineers)

Prime minister Boris Johnson has set a target of producing the world’s first “zero emission long haul passenger aircraft” in the UK.

He made the ambitious call during his ‘New Deal’ speech, setting out plans to “rebuild Britain and fuel economic recovery” after the coronavirus pandemic.

“As part of our mission to reach ‘net-zero’ CO2 emissions by 2050, we should set ourselves the goal now of producing the world’s first zero emission long haul passenger plane,” he said. “Jet Zero, let’s do it.”

People hoping for a quick and easy solution to aviation emissions will be disappointed, however, as the technology is far from ready. Electric planes have flown in the UK and abroad, but initial projects are based around small passenger numbers and relatively short regional journeys. The Eviation Alice, for example, has nine seats and a forecast range of 1,000km.

Other efforts have failed to make substantial progress towards zero-emission flight. Airbus and Rolls-Royce’s E-Fan X project, which would have initially used one electric motor before potentially electrifying further, was recently cancelled.

Energy density is the main challenge for zero emission flight. Hydrocarbon fuels store many-times more energy per weight compared to the best batteries, making them much more suitable for large planes for the time being.

Carbon neutral flights are a long way off, wrote aerospace expert Steve Wright from the University of the West of England in Professional Engineering earlier this year: “Without an absolutely astonishing physics breakthrough, we can’t expect even a regional electric jet until about 2035. I don’t expect the first electric transatlantic passenger flight until about 2050.

“The shame about hydrogen fuel cells is they’ve got more efficiency but about the same level of complexity as conventional internal combustion engines, while current biofuels are almost more environmentally damaging than fossil fuels, thanks to deforestation and palm oil growth.”

Other ‘green’ and engineering-focused measures in the prime minister’s speech included announcements on battery ‘gigafactories’, electric vehicle supply chains and carbon capture.

“Net zero is an extremely tough but necessary target, and the future of the UK’s decarbonisation and path to net zero is contingent on key decisions made by the government during this parliament,” said Sir Jim McDonald, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering. “Three decades is a very short time to completely renew, upgrade, install and secure entire parts of the UK’s national infrastructure but if government is willing to take a truly holistic view of the system, then the engineering community stands ready to deliver on the promise and potential of decarbonisation.”

https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/jet-zero-pm-targets-world-s-first-zero-emission-long-haul-passenger-plane-in-uk

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See earlier:

Airbus and Rolls-Royce have ended a joint venture to produce a hybrid-electric airliner test model

April 29, 2020

It seems the plans for a (pie-in-the-sky) electric plane before too long are even more remote than they were before … Airbus and Rolls–Royce have ended a joint venture to produce a hybrid-electric airliner testbed that could have paved the way for electric aircraft of the future.  [A testbed aircraft is an aeroplane, helicopter or other kind of aircraft intended for flight research or testing the aircraft concepts or on-board equipment. These could be specially designed or modified from serial production aircraft.]  The aim was to replace or or two of four jet engines with an electric engine. There is an unrealistic hope in the industry, and by some politicians, that aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers on their holiday etc trips will, in the not too distant future, be able to fly just on electricity. The reality is that, at best, there might be planes that can carry rather few passengers for rather short distances.  Electric planes will NOT be able to substitute for planes like A320s now, travelling over 1,000 miles.  The joint venture presumably was not sufficiently successful that the companies felt the need to continue with it. They did manage to produce a keg-sized 2.5MW generator, smaller than produced before. 

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2020/04/airbus-and-rolls-royce-have-ended-a-joint-venture-to-produce-a-hybrid-electric-airliner-test-model/

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