Carbon emissions in the aviation industry have become a leading political priority, with aviation and shipping now included in the net zero target for the UK government. Aviation currently accounts for approximately 2% of total global carbon emissions annually, with 915 million tonnes of CO2 produced by flights in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in most of the world spending several months on lockdown with severely restricted travel, has lowered the total volume of emissions for 2020. As aviation companies emerge from lockdown and start to generate business once more, priorities in the immediate term may not have much focus on sustainability.
However, it remains essential that sustainability is a high priority in the medium- to long-term across the industry. Matthew Stone of Renovare Fuels has been exploring ways to help the aviation industry become greener.
Funding for Green Research
The commitment of the UK government to creating a greener aviation industry can be seen in the recent creation of a number of grants that will total £400 million in value, divided equally between funding from the public and private sectors.
The grants are designed to fund development projects and cutting-edge research into new technologies that will kick-start an industry that has been mostly stalled since March 2020.
One of the projects is the FlyZero initiative, which will bring together a huge team of experts to design aircraft technology that can operate with zero emissions and secure the rights to manufacture that technology in the UK.
Biogas Fuels from Waste Products
Renovare Fuels has patented a new technology for converting biogas into liquid fuel. By blending a portion of this biofuel together with traditional aircraft fuels, aviation companies can help offset their carbon emissions.
The fuel comes from biodegradable sources of waste, which means its manufacture removes carbon from the environment. There is no competition with produce or crop growth, and there is no additional energy required in the manufacturing process. This can provide a source of fuel for aircraft which is objectively carbon neutral.
Through entering into partnerships with biofuel producers such as Renovare Fuels, end users in the aviation industry can offset their carbon emissions to the benefit of the environment and in line with measures to help tackle climate change.
The Renovare Fuels Team
Matthew Stone is the Chairman of Renovare Fuels and a renowned industry expert in the field of investment in clean technology. The rest of the management team is comprised of Head of Operations Martin Brooks, Chief Technical Officer Devin Walker, and Duncan Clark, Renovare Fuels’ Business Development Director.
The technical team of the company is made up of the same world-class chemical engineers responsible for the original development of this revolutionary technology. The team developed this technology in conjunction with scientists from NASA and the US Department of Energy.
