Transpor Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that the government is investing £3m in research into zero emission flight.
The UK he says is aiming to achieve the world’s first zero emission flight across the Atlantic within a generation and aims to support aviation reach net zero by 2050..
The government will award businesses and universities around the UK up to £50,000 each to pioneer critical research into infrastructure, such as charge points and hydrogen fuelling tanks, that will enable the mass uptake of electric and hydrogen aircraft.
The announcement follows on from news that members of the Jet Zero Council, British Airways (BA), this week carried out the world’s first net zero carbon freighter flights powered by a mix of sustainably sourced waste such as cooking oil.
This is set to be the first of many flights with BA ordering 1.2 million litres of the fuel.
Offering emissions savings of more than 80% compared to conventional jet fuel, this marks a milestone moment putting UK aviation at the forefront of global decarbonisation efforts and forging the pathway to sustainable commercial flying in the future.
