British entrepreneur Dale Vince announced plans on July 17 to launch an electric airline called Ecojet that will be powered using renewable energy. Those behind the project hope it will mark the start of a new chapter in air travel.
The formation of Ecojet represents the latest attempt to reduce the footprint of aviation. Flights in the U.K. will begin in 2024. Trips to mainland Europe will follow, and long-haul journeys are also under planning.
Ecojet will use 19- and 70-seat turboprop aircraft. While the objective is for the airplanes to use hydrogen-electric powertrains eventually, initial flights won’t.
According to its statement, “Short-term, to secure routes and a license from the Civil Aviation Authority, Ecojet will initially fly using conventionally fuelled planes,” and the aircraft would be “retrofitted with the hydrogen-electric power trains as soon they become approved for service by the CAA.”
The first retrofits are planned for 2025, a year after flights begin. Onboard meals will be plant-based, and single-use plastic will be eliminated.
Repurposing planes instead of building new ones “will save 90,000 tons of carbon per year,” the statement said. “The only byproduct will be water, which can be captured and released into the lower atmosphere to avoid the harmful effects of contrails,” it noted.
Vince, the founder of British energy firm Ecotricity, was bullish about Ecojet’s prospects. “The question of how to create sustainable air travel has plagued the green movement for decades… Ecojet is by far the most significant step towards a solution to date.”
According to the International Energy Agency, aviation was responsible for 2% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022. The IEA notes that although it “accounts for a relatively small share of global emissions,” it is “one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize.”
As concerns about sustainability and the environment mount, discussions about aviation have increasingly focused on how new innovations and ideas could minimize the sector’s impact on the environment.
In September 2020, a hydrogen fuel-cell plane capable of carrying passengers took to the skies over England for its maiden flight. The same month also saw Airbus disclose details of three hydrogen-powered concept planes.
But while there is excitement about the potential of hydrogen-powered flight and other innovations, some industry watchers have struck a cautious tone when it comes to talking about radical shifts taking place in the immediate term.
