Europe’s growing use of animal fats to power its cars and planes is becoming increasingly unsustainable, according to a new study by Cerulogy funded by European NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). The green group calls for greater transparency so that consumers know what is going into their tanks and fueling... Read more →

Natilus, a designer and developer of new autonomous blended-wing body (BWB) cargo aircraft, and ZeroAvia announced a strategic partnership jointly to develop hydrogen-electric engines for the Natilus Kona cargo aircraft. ZeroAvia’s ZA600 will be the sole hydrogen fuel cell powertrain offered for the novel Kona short-haul feeder UAV, with the... Read more →

ISC—NVIDIA, Rolls-Royce and Classiq, a quantum software company, have designed and simulated the world’s largest quantum computing circuit for computational fluid dynamics (CFD)—a circuit that measures 10 million layers deep with 39 qubits. Today’s quantum computers support circuits only a few layers deep. Rolls-Royce plans to use the new circuit... Read more →

An economic study by research group Steer, and commissioned by T&E, looked at future operating costs of hydrogen planes on intra-European flights and found that they could be an efficient, cost competitive technology to decarbonize the sector, provided kerosene is taxed adequately. (If fossil kerosene is taxed in line with... Read more →

Rolls-Royce successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator at its facility in Derby, UK. The first tests were conducted using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current... Read more →

US orbital logistics and space mining company TransAstra Corporation announced that the US Space Force has awarded it a Phase One Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to explore new applications for the company’s patented, propellant-agnostic Omnivore thruster. The Omnivore propulsion technology provides thrust typically six times faster and eight... Read more →

Neste announced its final investment decision on additional renewable products production capacity in Singapore in December 2018. The €1.6-billion Singapore Expansion project has been successfully completed, the start-up of the refinery expansion has been completed after mid-April, and Neste celebrated its opening today. The Singapore refinery expansion doubles Neste’s production... Read more →

Arcadia eFuels has selected Sasol and Topsoe technologies for its Vordingborg eFuels plant. The signing of the agreement represents a major milestone in maturing the project and ahead of the next major milestone being Arcadia’s final investment decision. The technology support for Arcadia marks the first single-point license between Topsoe... Read more →

Honeywell has introduced its new, UOP eFining technology, a ready-now solution for producing low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). HIF Global, the world’s leading eFuels company, intends to deploy the new technology to produce eSAF at its second US eFuels facility— its first eSAF facility in the US. eFuels, also known... Read more →

Pyka, a developer of autonomous electric aviation technology, was awarded a $7-million California Competes Tax Credit with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), approved last week by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee. The California Competes Tax Credit is an income tax credit for businesses that... Read more →

Carbon transformation company Twelve and fuel technology partner Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) signed a Master License Agreement to support Twelve’s scaleup of its E-Jet fuel, a fossil-free sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced using the company’s carbon transformation technology in combination with EFT’s Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and Maxx Jet upgrading technology. (Earlier... Read more →

Raven SR, a renewable fuels company (earlier post), and Cap Clean Energy, a clean energy development company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-develop biofuels facilities in Canada to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD) for the heavy duty transport sector. The... Read more →

ZeroAvia and Absolut Hydrogen will jointly explore liquid hydrogen (LH2) production, storage and refueling at airports. The partners will work together to build and demonstrate liquefaction and liquid hydrogen storage in an airport context and ultimately explore the technology developments, concept of operations, safety procedures and standards for larger-scale deployment... Read more →

At Auto Shanghai, Chinese battery giant CATL launched what it calls a “condensed battery”—a type of semi-solid state cell with an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg. CATL says the cell can achieve high energy density and high level of safety at the same time, opening up a new... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) has started building an initial development model of a lunar exploration mobility rover in tandem with aerospace partners. In July 2022, the Group signed a joint multilateral research agreement with six Korean research institutes in the aerospace sector to run and support a consultative body... Read more →

Brazil’s Acelen will invest more than R$12 billion (US$2.44 billion) over the next 10 years in the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the hydrotreatment of vegetable oils and animal fat. The company is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2026. . Acelen... Read more →

TerraStar Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) to license EFT’s Fischer-Tropsch (FT) and Maxx Jet/Maxx Diesel proprietary technology (earlier post) to build a fleet of FLEX plants—small-scale, modular renewable diesel facilities. Each plant will produce six to ten million gallons of renewable diesel per... Read more →

BAE Systems and Heart Aerospace, a Swedish electric airplane maker, will collaborate to define the battery system for Heart’s ES-30 regional electric airplane. The battery will be the first of its kind to be integrated into an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) regional aircraft, allowing it to operate efficiently... Read more →

Nacero will transition its current pre-construction, multi-billion USD facility in Penwell, Texas—designed to produce low carbon gasoline—to the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and lower carbon aviation fuel (LCAF). When fully completed, Nacero’s facility in Texas will be the largest commercial scale facility in the US for producing SAF... Read more →

Lilium N.V., developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, has teamed with Collins Aerospace to design, develop and build the Lilium Jet’s inceptors—the sidestick system used by the pilot to control the aircraft. Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global... Read more →

A study by MathPro Inc., prepared for the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has found that hydrotreating is an inexpensive approach to produce near-zero naphthalenes petroleum jet fuel (PJF) for contrail abatement. The report estimates an incremental cost of 0.09 to 0.12 USD/gallon (~€0.03/L) to hydrotreat fossil jet fuel... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to launch the first air taxi route in Chicago, between O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Vertiport Chicago. Vertiport Chicago, North America’s largest vertical aircraft take off and landing facility, is located in the Illinois Medical District near the Chicago Loop. This site was selected... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, developer of the Silicon Anode Platform for batteries, has verified a lithium-ion cell delivering energy density of 500 Wh/kg, 1300 Wh/L, resulting in unparalleled run time. At approximately half the weight and volume of state-of-the-art, commercially available lithium-ion cells, the new battery cell delivers potential industry-disrupting performance with... Read more →

JetBlue and Shell Aviation are collaborating to bring additional supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), targeting commencement of delivery in the first half of 2023. Within the terms of the agreement, JetBlue is expected to take delivery of 10,000,000 gallons of blended SAF at... Read more →

Viridos (founded as Synthetic Genomics (SGI) in 2005) (earlier post) has raised a $25-million Series A equity investment. The Series A was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and joined by Chevron USA . and United Airlines Ventures. The funding will be used for R&D to further increase algae oil... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen (earlier post) has formed a collaboration with three Japan-based companies to study—and ultimately to develop—a green hydrogen supply and logistics solution that will enable Japanese airlines to scale their utilization of hydrogen-powered aircraft in the very near-term. Collectively, Universal Hydrogen alongside Sojitz Corporation, Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc., and... Read more →

Early testing of the pressurized 20kW High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) stack power module in ZeroAvia’s UK R&D location has demonstrated a record 2.5 kW/kg specific power at the cell level, paving the way for 3+ kW/kg system level densities in the next 24 months. ZeroAvia is focused on... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen has flown a 40-passenger regional airliner using hydrogen fuel cell propulsion. The airplane, nicknamed Lightning McClean, took off at 8:41am PST from Grant County International Airport (KMWH) and flew for 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 3,500 MSL. The flight, conducted under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate, was... Read more →

H3X Technologies announced the completion of an investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures (LMV), the venture arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation. H3X designs and manufactures advanced electric motors to enable sustainable aviation and other high-performance applications. This latest funding brings the total raised by H3X to $9 million. The investment will... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research This post provides calculations of the approximate energy and environmental costs for flying ultralong distances nonstop against strong headwinds. The calculations were performed on flights in both directions between New York (JFK) and Auckland (AKL)—one of the longest current nonstop routes. (The distance between... Read more →

Bell Textron announced that the Bell 505 completed its first flight fueled solely by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marking the first single-engine helicopter to fly with 100% SAF. Bell collaborated with Safran Helicopter Engines, Neste, GKN Aerospace and Virent to make this Bell 505 flight possible. To achieve this... Read more →

The US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $10 million in funding to develop new technologies and tools to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. The funding, part of the ARPA-E broad Exploratory Topics FOA, is for the Predictive Real-time Emissions Technologies Reducing... Read more →

United has launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, an investment vehicle designed to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel by accelerating the research, production and technologies associated with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The fund starts with more than $100 million in investments from United and its inaugural... Read more →

Belgian solid-state Lithium battery technology company SOLiTHOR and aerospace company Sonaca signed a bilateral Memorandum of Agreement jointly to develop safe, high-density rechargeable solid-state Lithium battery systems for Regional Aircraft and Urban Air Mobility. This partnership will also expand to satellite systems as well as defense systems. This alliance will... Read more →

Sasol and Topsoe have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intent to establish a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) in 2023 to develop sustainable aviation fuel solutions (SAF). The JV will develop, build, own, and operate ventures producing SAF based on Sasol’s Fischer Tropsch technology and Topsoe’s relevant SAF... Read more →

Indian Oil Corporation, India’s leading energy major, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LanzaJet to explore the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production in India. The MOU between LanzaJet and IndianOil establishes a partnership to pursue large capacity SAF production in India using LanzaJet’s proven Alcohol-to-Jet... Read more →

Air India signed a firm order for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice engine services agreement. The deal was signed in coordination with the airline’s firm order for 20 Boeing 787 and 10 Boeing 777X aircraft. GE Aerospace has powered Air India since 1982, when the... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, plus options for 20 more. This is the biggest ever order for the Trent XWB-97, which exclusively powers the Airbus A350-1000. Air India has also ordered 12 Trent XWB-84 engines, the sole engine option for the Airbus... Read more →

Nidec Leroy-Somer has signed an agreement with Airbus to develop an electric motor for Airbus’ hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine prototype, as part of Airbus’ ambition to bring the first zero-emission commercial aircraft to market by 2035. (Earlier post.) Image of the AIrbus fuel cell demonstrator engine Leroy-Somer, part of the... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen was granted a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to proceed with the first flight of its hydrogen-powered regional aircraft. The company also released video footage of successful first taxi tests of the aircraft, designed to evaluate ground handling qualities and... Read more →

As part of a £113-million (US$136-million) investment from the UK, three projects led by Rolls-Royce will receive £82.8 million (US$100 million) to advance the development of a zero-emission liquid hydrogen combusting jet engine. The funding is being awarded through the ATI Program. The ATI Program co-funds industry-led innovation in civil... Read more →

Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo and Green Earth Institute agreed to begin trilateral consideration of the first commercial production of cellulosic bioethanol from woody biomass in Japan and its development into bio-chemical products. Bioethanol is currently attracting attention as a renewable energy source and as feedstock for biofuels such as SAF... Read more →

United Airlines, Tallgrass, and Green Plains announced a new joint venture—Blue Blade Energy—to develop and then commercialize a novel Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technology that uses ethanol as its feedstock. United, Tallgrass, and Green Plains will invest up to a combined $50 million in the joint venture. United has entered... Read more →

Emirates has operated a demonstration flight on a Boeing 777-300ER, powering one of its engines 100% with Neste’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flight took off on 30 January from Dubai International Airport (DXB) flying for more than one hour over the Dubai coastline. It is the first demonstration flight... Read more →

Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse is working on systems and equipment to reduce fuel consumption and to contribute to more carbon-neutral aircraft. An emblematic project consists of using a hydrogen fuel cell power source to generate sufficient electrical power, in the range of 400 kW, to feed all the non-propulsion systems of next-generation... Read more →

The consortium of Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, TotalEnergies, Siemens Energy and Marubeni announced that the Masdar-led initiative focused on green hydrogen to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is actively working with licensors to certify a new production pathway for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from methanol. This novel pathway will provide one... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award some $118 million in funding for 17 projects to accelerate the production of sustainable biofuels. Made from widely available domestic feedstocks and advanced refining technologies, energy-dense biofuels provide a pathway for low-carbon fuels that can lower greenhouse gas emissions throughout the transportation... Read more →

Aircraft manufacturers designing “More Electric Aircraft” (MEA) are looking to convert the flight control systems from hydraulic to electric to reduce weight and design complexities. To meet the needs for an integrated and configurable power solution for aviation applications, Microchip Technology Inc. is introducing a new hybrid power drive module.... Read more →

ZeroAvia’s modified 19-seat Dornier 228 twin-engine aircraft took to the sky in testbed configuration for first flight as part of the HyFlyer II project. The airplane was retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing of the aircraft. The flight took place from the company’s R&D facility... Read more →

NASA has issued an award to The Boeing Company for the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which seeks to inform a potential new generation of green single-aisle airliners. Under a Funded Space Act Agreement, Boeing will work with NASA to build, test, and fly a full-scale Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW)... Read more →