Concentrating sustainable aviation fuel use on a small number of dense long-haul routes would accelerate development of commercial supply chains, a new research paper has concluded.
Such “green flightpaths” would demonstrate economic viability, the paper states, and drive the large-scale investment needed for broader take-up of sustainable fuels.
The research has been led by the American University of Sharjah and the UK’s Heriot-Watt University.
According to the researchers, sustainable aviation fuel production is “way off track” and ramping-up demands de-risking in order to attract the considerable investment required.
Selection of specific long-haul routes – such as London Heathrow-Dubai – would emulate work conducted in the maritime sector under a scheme launched in 2021 at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
This has resulted in 44 ‘green corridor’ initiatives, including 23 last year, to focus the development of zero-emission shipping fuels, vessels, and associated technologies. Ships using specific fuels are assured of availability at each participating port.
The paper argues that green flightpaths will “pro-actively address scalability” of sustainable fuel production. The drop-in nature of aviation fuels will need comparably less infrastructure change, it claims.
Leveraging predictable, high-volume flightpaths between major hubs to demonstrate sustainability will allow later expansion to the broader network.
But it adds that collaboration is needed between the various aviation parties, to adopt “favourable” economics, logistics and regulations in order to “accelerate adoption”.
The paper also states that there is an “onus” on countries which benefit most from air transport to develop sustainable solutions, and this would be covered by a ‘green flightpath’ plan.
American University of Sharjah vice-chancellor for research Steve Griffiths, the lead author, says the United Arab Emirates and the UK are “highly dependent” on long-haul flights and have a “compelling opportunity” to spearhead establishment of such flightpaths.
“Establishing green flight paths has the potential to not only drive decarbonisation of the aviation sector, but also lead to international co-operation for the development of sustainable aviation fuel,” he adds.
The paper has been published in the Energy and Environmental Science journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Co-author John Andresen, Heriot-Watt University’s associate director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions, adds that a framework along the lines of ‘green corridors’ for shipping is “becoming increasingly urgent” in order to drive global sustainable fuel production.
