American startup JetZero and its backers hope the new aircraft will be the future of commercial aviation and offer a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The striking design \u2013 which borrows from the ‘blended wing’ look of stealth bombers \u2013 has attracted the interest of airlines on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JetZero’s design is one of multiple technologies being developed to help airlines achieve the industry’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The net zero target is based on the mass adoption of new and cleaner sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). However, aerospace companies are also working on electric batteries and hydrogen-powered aircraft to try to reduce emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stakes are high, with tighter regulations and the looming threat of taxes on flights. Aviation is currently responsible for 2% to 3% of global CO\u2082 emissions, but this figure is expected to rise as other industries reduce their emissions faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, global airline lobby group Iata estimated that the average annual investment in SAF and other technology that would be required to achieve net zero would be $128 billion a year. He insisted that this was “doable”, but only with more government support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An airplane flying exclusively with SAF can save up to 70% of the emissions produced by conventional fuels. The problem is that current SAF production is around 1.5 million tonnes per year, while IATA estimates that meaningful progress towards the 2050 emissions target will require 24 million tonnes by 2030 and 500 million tonnes by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Airlines wanted to continue expanding at their current rate, but also achieve net zero emissions by 2050 using SAF, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JetZero’s blended wing design will help solve that conundrum, he said. The company plans to begin flying an eighth-size demonstrator within the next three years and have a full-size plane flying as soon as 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The JetZero<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The two companies that make the most commercial aircraft in the world \u2013 Airbus of Europe and Boeing of the US \u2013 have both experimented with blended wings. Airbus introduced a prototype called the Maveric four years ago. But JetZero believes it can move faster than these two industry heavyweights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founded in 2021 by a team that includes former aerospace executives, JetZero last year won a $235 million contract from the US Air Force to develop a demonstration aircraft. Alaska Airlines is among its investors \u2013 the investment includes options for future aircraft orders. Earlier this month, it agreed a partnership with easyJet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The JetZero’s design combines wings and fuselage in a manner similar to the US Air Force’s B-2 bomber. This design, according to the company, will allow its aircraft to use 50% less fuel than a comparable conventional design, but with existing engine technology. It should also produce 50% less emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The planned passenger capacity \u2013 from 200 to 250 passengers \u2013 will address the size gap between single-aisle aircraft such as Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320 families, and both manufacturers’ largest twin-aisle models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbon-free hydrogen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe question is . . . Will there be enough carbon-free hydrogen available in the 2035 timeframe to support commercialization of the aircraft?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the short term, the focus on decarbonisation remains and industry is lobbying policymakers for support to increase production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Airlines remain convinced that the goal of net zero is achievable, with the right support from governments, fuel companies and manufacturers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" American startup JetZero and its backers hope the new aircraft will be the future of commercial aviation and offer a way to reduce carbon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[620,2956],"tags":[6007,1589,2434,6008,2393,6009,2194],"class_list":["post-20703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-industries","tag-aviation-industry","tag-iata","tag-industry","tag-jetzero","tag-saf","tag-startup","tag-stealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20706,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20703\/revisions\/20706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}