European airlines push back hydrogen ambitions

The European aviation industry has drastically scaled back its ambitions for hydrogen-powered planes to help it reach net zero by 2050, according to a new forecast that warns the costs of decarbonisation have “ballooned”. Airlines, airports and other parts of the aviation sector have committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a mix of new technologies, particularly by switching to alternative fuels. But in an update to a net zero road map published on Tuesday, industry groups said they expected hydrogen-powered planes to be responsible for just 6% of net emissions reductions by 2050, down from 20% in 2021. “The contribution by hydrogen-powered aircraft and the switch to hydrogen as fuel is notably reduced,” said the report, which was commissioned by five trade bodies as an update to an original 2021 net zero plan. “This is due to the lower anticipated market share of hydrogen-powered aircraft . . . and the later entry into service of the hydrogen-powered single-aisle [aircraft],” it added. The trade bodies reaffirmed the overall commitment to reaching net zero by 2050 but said the report represented a “reality check” for the European Commission and called for “urgent action” to support decarbonisation efforts. The industry’s report also forecast that European aviation faces more than E1.3t in extra costs to reach net zero, E480bn more than previously thought. “The costs of getting to net zero have ballooned . . . We as [an] aviation industry can simply not do this alone,” said Olivier Jankovec, director-general of airport trade body ACI Europe.<br/>