European aerospace giant Airbus sees hydrogen power as “one of the most promising technologies available” to decarbonise air travel and is looking to utilise it as part of plans to roll out a zero-emission aircraft by 2035.

Two companies have teamed up on a project that could provide a key test of our ability to use synthetic fuel, made from carbon dioxide captured from the air, to cut emissions from aviation.
Carbon Engineering, a direct air capture company based in British Columbia, has signed a deal with Aerion, a startup based in Reno, Nevada, that is developing a supersonic business jet known as the AS2, to evaluate whether fuel derived from CO2-sucking machines can enable carbon-neutral commercial flights.

The mobility of the future has to become more environmentally friendly. And we have to move away from fossil fuels and environmentally harmful emissions. Research is heading in different directions: Synthetic fuels from renewable sources, electricity, and hydrogen. Low-emission engines and unmanned and electric aircraft will soon be seen in the skies.

An Edinburgh safety consultancy is playing a crucial part in trials of a pioneering hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Abbott Risk Consulting (ARC) is providing the safety assurance in the HyFlyer project which last month saw a Piper M-Class six-seater aircraft undergo test flights at Cranfield, culminating in a 250-300 nautical mile demonstration flight out of Orkney.

James Hygate, founder and CEO of Green Fuels Ltd, ‘virtually’ presented the project to the European biotech stakeholder community. More than 300 EU-funded biotech projects were screened for their potential for commercialisation. Interviews of 79 projects were conducted and the projects analysed more deeply, taking into account factors such as target markets, TRL, industry involvement, IP situation and more. The assessment of the best-ranked projects was complemented with an evaluation by a Ketbio's Commercial Committee for the final selection of the Ketbio Top Ten.

A new independent study, commissioned by Clean Sky 2 and Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Joint Undertakings on hydrogen’s potential for use in aviation, was presented at an online event on 22 June which featured Adina-Ioana Vălean, the European Commissioner for Transport, and Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission, as keynote speakers, in addition to leading industry representatives Stéphane Cueille (CTO, Safran), Glen Llewellyn (VP Zero Emissions Technology, Airbus), David Burns (VP Global Business Development, Linde), Per Ekdunge (Executive Vice-President, PowerCell) and Rolf Henke (Member of the Executive Board, German Aerospace Centre - DLR).