Booking your first zero-emissions flight
Electric and H2-fueled planes are coming. But will they really decarbonize aviation?
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Show Notes
In aviation, there’s a crowd of low-carbon technologies vying for a slice of the market. On one hand, the long-haul portion of the market will likely rely on sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) which still emit greenhouse gasses but could be offset to net-zero. On the other hand, there’s a big share of air traffic that could go completely zero-emissions with the help of batteries and hydrogen.
So how soon could you book a ticket on a zero-emissions flight? And what routes are possible?
In this episode, Shayle talks with Jayant Mukhopadhaya, a researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Jayant recently authored two reports on electric aircraft and hydrogen aircraft. Shayle and Jayant dig in on some tough questions:
- Can electric aircraft take incremental steps into the market given the limitations of current battery energy densities? Or do they need a technology breakthrough?
- How do hydrogen fuel cell, compressed hydrogen combustion, and liquid hydrogen combustion compare?
- How do airports need to prepare for hydrogen fueling? Hint: Terminal-sized upgrades.
Catalyst is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.
Resources:
- Canary Media: Can battery-powered airplanes decarbonize air travel?
- Canary Media: How do we clean up air travel? Fuel from fast-food grease is just the start
- Bloomberg (video): Hydrogen May Be the Jet Fuel of the Future
- Catalyst: A bumpy ride toward decarbonizing aviation
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