Booking your first zero-emissions flight

In aviation, there’s a crowd of low-carbon technologies vying for a slice of the market. On one hand, the long-haul portion of the market will likely rely on sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) which still emit greenhouse gasses but could be offset to net-zero. On the other hand, there’s a big share of air traffic that could go completely zero-emissions with the help of batteries and hydrogen. 

So how soon could you book a ticket on a zero-emissions flight? And what routes are possible?

In this episode, Shayle talks with Jayant Mukhopadhaya, a researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Jayant recently authored two reports on electric aircraft and hydrogen aircraft. Shayle and Jayant dig in on some tough questions: 

• Can electric aircraft take incremental steps into the market given the limitations of current battery energy densities? Or do they need a technology breakthrough?
• How do hydrogen fuel cell, compressed hydrogen combustion, and liquid hydrogen combustion compare?
• How do airports need to prepare for hydrogen fueling? Hint: Terminal-sized upgrades.

Catalyst is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

Resources:

• Canary Media: Can battery-powered airplanes decarbonize air travel? 
• Canary Media: How do we clean up air travel? Fuel from fast-food grease is just the start
• Bloomberg (video): Hydrogen May Be the Jet Fuel of the Future
• Catalyst: A bumpy ride toward decarbonizing aviation

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