…nears its destination

It's an industry that has changed the world…

…and it's now in crisis

But is this aviation's moment for a green reset?

Covid has given an opportunity to build back green and faster

The technology race is on

There is absolutely opportunity for companies like us…

…to change the world here

But are the runners fit for purpose…

...and will sustainable air travel cost more?

Val Miftakhov is the CEO of a company…

…committed to sustainable aviation

Of course it's exciting, every time we are testing something new

And today he's test-flying a plane…

…that could potentially solve aviation's biggest challenge

This is the world's largest hydrogen-electric aircraft…

…flying right now

We hope for us achieving all the performance…

…that we expect to achieve

His vision—to fly without polluting the skies

Ok, let's do it

Ok, let's do the max

In this plane, hydrogen is being used in a fuel cell…

…to run an electric motor…

…producing zero-carbon emissions

Honestly, the only by-product of a fuel-cell operation is water

So water vapour gets out into the atmosphere…

…and it's pretty harmless

Without decarbonising technologies like hydrogen…

…aviation could be responsible for 22%…

…of the planet's emissions by 2050

Because it can pack more energy into a smaller space…

…hydrogen has recently overtaken electric batteries…

…as the front-runner in the race for cleaner flying

Within 15 years…

…the manufacturing giant, Airbus…

…plans to introduce planes that burn hydrogen in engines as fuel

And the EU believes that by 2050…

…hydrogen technologies could reduce…

…the industry's carbon emissions by up to 75%

We actually looked early on at different ways…

…to bring sustainability to aviation

Hydrogen-electric is the most efficient…

…and likely to be the lowest cost out of all

But there are plenty of obstacles to overcome…

…before these hydrogen technologies…

…are commercially viable

For starters, installing the infrastructure…

…to distribute and produce hydrogen will be very pricey…

…at least $500bn by one estimate

What's more, hydrogen will need to be produced sustainably…

…using renewable energy to split water molecules

And on top of that, hydrogen packs less energy…

…into a given volume than jet fuel…

…so powering long-haul flights will mean…

…extensive aircraft redesign

So you need bigger tanks…

…you need to change the shape of the aeroplane

And then within the engine…

…you need more sophisticated heat exchangers…

…to deal with the hydrogen coming through

Airlines are fighting for the future of their industry

The big problem for aviation…

…is that green technologies cost a lot of money…

…but there isn't much to go around…

…as the industry faces the worst economic crisis in its history…

…and as environmental movements like “flight-shaming” are on the up

Some in aviation are committed to greener skies

It's just they can't do it on their own…

…according to one of Britain's leading figures…

…on climate change and energy policy

I think the good news…

…is that the industry has really redoubled…

…its efforts to decarbonise

I think we are seeing many examples of leadership

But we may also need, you know, government support…

…in an environment where covid-19 has very clearly…

…hit the cashflows…

…of the big incumbent players…

…in a way which was not their fault

Even with governments' help…

…it will take at least two decades…

…before hydrogen-powered planes are ready for take-off

To reduce emissions in the nearer term…

…aviation needs other options

And a front-runner has recently emerged

Since July, the right engine of this Airbus A321…

…has been powered by biofuel

Sustainable fuels are made from synthetic sources…

…or biological ones such as crops, algae…

…or even waste

One of the great benefits…

…of going down the sustainable-aviation-fuel…

…the biofuel or the synthetic-jet-fuel route…

…is that it's a drop-in fuel…

…so that what happens at the airport doesn't change

To pump up the flow of sustainable fuels…

…experts say governments need to offer incentives to airlines

That could mean rolling out taxes on dirty fuels…

…and making airlines buy a certain proportion of cleaner ones

We have this chicken-and-egg problem, as we call it…

…of aviation companies who say…

…we would love to buy sustainable-aviation fuel…

…if it was only 50% more expensive…

…than conventional jet fuel

But as long as it's three times more expensive…

…this is prohibitively expensive…

…and you have people trying to develop…

…a sustainable-aviation-fuel technologies…

…who would say, we could get the price down…

…if only we had certainty of really big orders…

…by a particular date

And there's another way…

…governments could speed up the shift to greener skies…

…stumping up investment funds

So that's interesting

Just ask the CEO…

…who is trying to make hydrogen-powered planes take off

He says the $3.3m his company received…

…from the British government, has been crucial

He argues larger-scale investment from the state…

…as well as the private sector…

…is key to making green aviation viable

It's very hard to make…

…the radically new technologies competitive commercially…

…without government support right from the beginning…

…especially when you're in R&D phase…

…especially in such a capital-intense industry as aviation

Going green may be the biggest challenge…

…the industry has ever faced

It demands the right investment and policies…

…to support a range of technologies

And that might mean passengers need deeper pockets

It may be that there is a slight air-ticket premium

I think we should simply pay it

I think we should say this is what we have to pay…

…in order to have zero-carbon flight

I'm Simon Wright, industry editor at The Economist

If you'd like to read more about the future of aviation…

…click on the link opposite

If you'd like to watch more…

…of our Now & Next series…

…click on the other link

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