The global air transport industry has been ahead of the decarbonization curve for several years, committing to halve its CO2 emissions by 2050 (against a 2005 benchmark). This ambition is in line with the Paris Agreement objectives, with the industry even seeking to reach total carbon-neutrality for intra-European flights by the same year.
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But to achieve these goals, a holistic approach must be adopted by the industry. This means an approach that encompasses the entirety of the aviation value chain and ecosystem, reaching beyond aircraft operations and production alone.
Technology is key
Structural evolutions on aircraft and propulsion technology are key to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the aviation industry. There are a few important technology developments that are helping move the GHG agenda forward:
- Fleet renewal. New aircrafts leveraging advanced technologies, such as lighter alloys, optimized designs, and higher efficiency engines are delivering sizeable fuel savings of 15% to 20%. Optimized designs also contribute to the emissions reduction. For example, winglet retrofits—devices that reduce drag on wings—alone led to 80-million tons of CO2 reduction since 2000 globally.
- Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). These fuels, which are either bio-sourced or obtained by combining green hydrogen with captured CO2 (power to liquid), are a promising option as they are compatible with current engines. Depending on how SAFs are processed, this could mean a 50% to 98% reduction in CO2 emissions. Right now, 45 airlines globally are exploring SAF options. However, use of SAFs is still limited, with costs historically two to four times that of jet fuel—although recent steep increases in oil and gas prices are significantly reducing the gap.
- Powering aircrafts with hydrogen. Hydrogen-powered aircrafts are expected to arrive in the next decade—which means aircraft with no CO2 emissions at all. Some major aircraft manufacturers are developing not only traditional aircraft that are hydrogen powered but also models with alternate flying wing designs that can improve overall performance.
Operational changes are also necessary
Airlines’ operations and maintenance optimization can also have a significant impact on CO2 emissions. Some of these changes include:
- Better flight-planning and “eco-piloting,” including reducing cancelled flights that disrupt planning and being stricter about sticking to optimized flightpaths and landing configurations. Improved traffic management systems will help enable these transformations.
- In-flight weight reduction. Airlines are continuously looking for ways to make the interior design of an aircraft (e.g., seats, equipment, galleys) lighter, deploying policies to reduce on-board paper (e.g., digitization of flight documentation and magazines), and adjusting water usage to better align with flight occupation rates and durations.
- Ground operations. Using greener vehicles on the ground—such as electric or hydrogen powered—helps reduce emissions. Also, single-engine taxiing—where only half of the installed number of engines are used to taxi on the runway—offers the opportunity to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
- Improved maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). MRO can play a sizeable role in decarbonization. Planning enabled by AI and big data can improve overhaul operations and therefore ensure a better balance between maintenance costs, aircraft ground-time and fuel consumption. Furthermore, some maintenance operations, such as engine or plane washing or using special coating treatments to reduce air resistance, can also improve fuel consumption.
The value chains matter
Aircraft value chains—including both production and maintenance—emit smaller amounts of CO2 but still must be factored into efforts to decarbonize the industry.
Currently aircraft manufacturers and MRO players are already strongly engaged in reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions—those emissions generated directly through manufacturing and operations—accounting for about 10% to 15% of the total CO2 emissions. They are also working on engine testing carbon efficiency (including SAF integration), extended manufacturing process electrification, power auto-production (deploying proprietary solar panels in industrial facilities), buildings and process energy efficiency.
However, the most impact comes from optimizing the end-to-end construction of the whole aircraft, starting at the design phase, and looking at the whole lifecycle, including the maintenance process. Integrating sustainable parts and components as well as repairing them whenever possible, rather than replacing them with new parts, is also crucial. Finally, fully digital management of operations and supply chains will help enable this transformation.
Collaborating for success
Achieving substantial results will require well-coordinated collaboration that involves not only aircraft manufacturers, airlines, MRO players, and airports but also power and gas utilities, public authorities, and even ground mobility operators. Only by engaging the entirety of the ecosystem can decarbonization goals be met within the industry.
To learn more about decarbonization in aviation, please visit the Deloitte Aerospace & Defense pages on Deloitte.com.
