Hydrogen planes, electric propulsion and new regulations: Aviation is changing

From the Wright brothers’ historic flight in 1903 to the development of supersonic aircraft, the history of aviation has been driven by technology and ambition. Now, as the 21st century progresses, the sector continues to show its appetite for innovation and radical design. Last September, for instance, 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 release details of three hydrogen-fueled concept planes, with the European aerospace giant claiming they could enter service by 2035. More recently, United announced it had signed a commercial agreement to purchase aircraft from a start-up called Boom Supersonic. These moves are linked by a focus on technologies designed to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint — a major task, even if the number of flights last year slumped due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the International Energy Agency, carbon dioxide emissions from aviation “have risen rapidly over the past two decades,” hitting almost 1 gigatonne in 2019. This, it notes, equates to “about 2.8% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.” Elsewhere, the World Wildlife Fund describes aviation as “one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change.” It adds that air travel is “currently the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make.”<br/>