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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