Search for carbon-cutting breakthroughs delay new-aircraft launches

Ambitious carbon-reduction goals have led airframers to pursue longer-term, more-revolutionary technologies rather than bringing incremental efficiency improvements to market faster, according to a top Airbus executive. Asked if Airbus might be able to launch a new-aircraft project sooner if not for broad interest in significantly cutting carbon output, Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer says, “Yes.” “The consciousness of needing to decarbonise our industry… should lead every rational observer to the conclusion that doing a new airplane with… current technology is not going to allow this ecosystem to meet the targets it has just, through the voice of IATA, underwritten today,” Scherer says. He spoke on 4 October during IATA’s World Air Transport Summit. Earlier the same day, IATA approved a resolution calling on the globe’s airline industry to achieve “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050. The path to achieving that goal remains unclear, though the industry is pursuing hydrogen fuel and sustainable aviation fuel, both of which come with a fair share of challenges. Airbus has committed itself to hydrogen power. Scherer insists Airbus fully intends to meet its goal of introducing a hydrogen-powered airliner by the mid-2030s.<br/>