Air NZ is working towards emissions-free flights. Video / Supplied
Air New Zealand is closing in on plans to trial zero emissions aircraft.
The airline today announced an accelerator programme with what it says are two ambitious goals.
The first being to fly a commercial demonstrator flight in 2026 and begin replacing its Q300 domestic fleet with a more sustainableaircraft from 2030.
This is likely to be a green hydrogen or battery hybrid system.
The airline has been working towards this target since last year, announcing last September it had signed with Airbus to investigate green hydrogen to power its smaller turboprop aircraft.
Today it said some of the world’s most innovative aircraft developers will join forces with it to make zero emissions aircraft technology a reality in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Its accelerator programme is known as Mission Next Gen Aircraft.
Last December it released a Product Requirements Document (PRD) which saw more than 30 aircraft developers respond with ideas and insights to guide the technology development.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Air New Zealand is in close negotiations and expects to sign letters of intent to order aircraft for 2026. This will be subject to a selection process over the next 12 months and the airline will be announcing these partners by the end of this year.
The airline’s chief executive Greg Foran said it had bold sustainability goals.
‘’Conventional business processes are not going to address the technology or infrastructure required to meet them. We want to lead the rollout of zero-emission aircraft and will work alongside aircraft developers, innovators and infrastructure providers to give them the confidence they’re developing a product that’s a viable option for us.’’
During the next three years the airline would be focused on supporting the building, testing and certifying of aircraft and associated infrastructure.
By 2026, it aims to have its first zero-emissions aircraft – either cargo or passenger – take flight in New Zealand.
The lessons from flying an aircraft with next-generation propulsion technology from 2026 will pave the way for their long-term green hydrogen and hybrid partners to deliver an aircraft that can replace the Q300 domestic fleet.
‘’We’re breaking new ground here – it’s not just the aircraft that needs to be developed, but also the infrastructure and regulation required to fly commercially,” he said.
“We know these goals are ambitious, but ambition is exactly what is required to make this new technology a reality.”
We know these goals are ambitious, but ambition is exactly what is required to make this new technology a reality
The PRD process highlighted how New Zealand, and Air New Zealand, were ideally suited to lead the development of zero emissions aircraft deployment and the establishment of supporting infrastructure.
“We mainly operate short-range routes up and down the country, and New Zealand is largely built on renewable electricity generation – it’s an ideal landscape to adopt zero emission aircraft,’’ said Foran.
It would take ‘’the minds of many’' within the industry to find the right solution.
‘’The technology is getting there, it just needs to be developed to a scale we can roll out across our network. It’s a wicked problem to solve but we’re two feet in.”
While zero-emissions aircraft technology will decarbonise the airline’s domestic network over the period to 2050, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is important in the near term.
As a “drop in” fuel that can power current aircraft, it can reduce emissions for long-haul travel and domestic flights while the airline continues to operate conventional aircraft.
The airline has already imported a small batch of SAF from Finland’s Neste to power domestic planes. SAF is still up to five times the cost of A-1 jet fuel although rapid scaling up of manufacturing around the world will cut the cost of it. Airbus says hydrogen is a high-potential technology with a specific energy-per-unit mass that is three times higher than traditional jet fuel.
If generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, it emits no CO2 emissions. Because hydrogen has a lower volumetric energy density, the appearance of future aircraft will likely change to better accommodate hydrogen storage solutions that will be bulkier than existing jet fuel storage tanks, Airbus says.
Hydrogen can be combusted through modified gas-turbine engines or converted into electrical power that complements the gas turbine via fuel cells.
Airbus has been working on hydrogen power for aircraft. Image / Supplied
‘‘The combination of both creates a highly efficient hybrid-electric propulsion chain powered entirely by hydrogen,’' Airbus says.
In Germany Lufthansa’s research into hydrogen in an Airbus A320 ‘’test lab’' highlights issues around the fuel including; how it can be optimally integrated into existing airport infrastructure, how to prevent ice build-up on components and surfaces, how to prevent uncontrolled escape of liquid hydrogen when it becomes gaseous and what protective measures need to be taken to mitigate hydrogen fire hazards
Air New Zealand is also interested in fully battery powered planes such as those developed by New Zealand billionaire Richard Chandler’s aircraft startup, Eviation, in the United States.
