by Elsie Clark | Mar 18, 2026 | Sustainability
The UK’s ‘Jet Zero’ taskforce have published their first annual report after the government introduced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) targets at the beginning of 2025.
The mandate sets guidelines for achieving 10% SAF blending by 2030. Supported by a Revenue Certainty Mechanism and a £63 million Advanced Fuels Fund, aviation minister Keir Mather said at the Sustainable Skies World Summit that the progress made so far was ‘encouraging’. He added:
We must be clear eyed that there is still a long way to go on this journey and there are real challenges ahead but there are enormous opportunities too.
The green transition is not only about protecting our planet but also about strengthening our economy and our resilience. In an uncertain world, energy security has never been more important and that is why we must keep building momentum, boosting the production and deployment of SAF, backing technological renovation, improving efficiency and building robust carbon markets.
Alongside scaling SAF, the UK government is expanding the Hydrogen Challenge programme and launching a £240 million fund for next-generation aerospace technologies. Sustainable Aviation also announced a £2 million greenhouse gas removals (GGR) initative alongside the report, with estimates suggesting that the UK’s aviation industry will need 20 to 30 million tonnes of carbon removed each year by 2050.
Duncan McCourt, Chief Executive of Sustainable Aviation, said:
The UK aviation industry is working hard to address its climate impact. Scaling Greenhouse Gas Removals is essential for hard-to-abate sectors, and this Advanced Market Signal is the aviation industry acting now to help stimulate the growth of the GGR sector.
We have also made clear today that the aviation industry supports action to address the non-CO₂ impact of aviation. By accelerating research, trials and collaboration, we can deliver practical solutions that reduce aviation’s full climate impact.
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by Elsie Clark | Feb 16, 2026 | Innovation, Sustainability
London Heathrow Airport has set the ambitious target of exceeding the UK government’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) target by 2% in 2026. This year, regulations stipulate that 3.6% of all aviation fuel used in the UK should be sustainable. However, Heathrow is going further with a 5.6% target, backed by an £80 million fund.
Matt Gorman, Heathrow’s Director of Sustainability, said:
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is not a hypothetical concept for the future, it’s already producing real impact in 2026. Heathrow is leading the way globally, with 17% of the world’s SAF supply in 2024 used at the airport. SAF is a key lever on aviation’s journey to net zero by 2050, and a key element of Heathrow’s Net Zero Plan. Our incentive delivers real progress today, as well as a future promise for tomorrow.
The initiative forms part of Heathrow’s wider sustainability plans, which will also see it exceed UK government mandates. By 2030, 10% of fuel used in the country must be SAF, but Heathrow plans to scale their targets to achieve 11% SAF use that same year. The £80 million will help make SAF more competitive with traditional kerosene fuels while reducing the cost impact on airlines — a common criticism of existing SAF mandates.
Overall, the plans will see 350,000 tonnes of SAF used at Heathrow in 2026. This results in a carbon saving of approximately 600,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 950,000 economy passengers flying a round-trip between Heathrow and JFK.
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by Elsie Clark | Jan 20, 2026 | Innovation
The UK government is launching a new fund worth up to £43 million (US$58 million) for financing green aviation projects.
Hydrogen propulsion and limiting contrails are two key areas of interest in the competitions, which will run in February. The funding comes from Innovate UK and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Avoiding contrails is of special interest as the aviation industry attempts to balance decarbonisation with growth. Most emissions produced by contrails are avoidable, and the programme is especially keen to track airlines based in Africa and the Caribbean. Lacking the technology to report emissions accurately, these regions are not saddled with the same green aviation costs as competitors in the UK. The new competitions will help create a more equal environment for all while consolidating a path to net-zero.
Hydrogen fuel has the potential to revolutionise aviation as it only produces water while combusting. However, the technology remains in its infancy and the industry currently considers sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as more reliable. Nevertheless, integrating the hydrogen economy could have a considerable impact on certain operations if scaled correctly. The CAA said they would use the investment as an opportunity to develop regulations for commercial hydrogen aviation.
This latest round of competitions are running alongside the UK’s existing commercial aviation research and development (R&D) strategy, which has committed £2.3 billion in funding over the next ten years. Additionally, a bill guaranteeing a set price on SAF for UK consumers is set to be introduced by the government later this year.
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by Elsie Clark | Oct 2, 2025 | Innovation
The OxCam Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Corridor will test electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) tech in the UK for the first time.
The project will last six months and aims to prove the viability of an air taxi service between Oxford and Cambridge. The cities, home to internationally-renowned universities, are significant economic and research hubs. However, travelling between them currently takes two-and-a-half hours by train.
An East-West rail link is currently in development, as UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves aims to strengthen ties between Oxford and Cambridge through initiatives she says will be worth £78bn to the UK economy by 2035.
If successful, an air taxi corridor serving the two cities would boost connectivity even further. Laura Peacock, head of innovation at Oxfordshire County Council said:
This is a chance to demonstrate how innovation can be harnessed not just for economic growth, but for real societal and positive environmental impact.
Announcement of the project came shortly after the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published its eVTOL development model. This framework is designed to make air taxi travel a reality in the country as early as 2029.
The OxCam AAM Corridor is a joint project between Skyports, Bristow Helicopters, NATS, Vertical Aerospace, and Oxfordshire County Council. A planned ‘A to A’ piloted eVTOL demonstration at Skyports’ Bicester Vertiport next year will see Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 prototype take to the skies. When it takes place, it will be the first piloted passenger flight of its kind in the UK.
Cities such as Dubai and San Francisco, who bill themselves as innovation hubs, have already freed up regulation to facilitate eVTOL testing. The Oxford-Cambridge project represents a significant step in the UK’s position in AAM, as it races to keep pace with international tech developments.
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