Can flying go green?

Synopsis

Pan American World Airways Clipper flight 100 approaches its destination, highlighting the aviation industry's current crisis and the potential for a green reset. Covid presents an opportunity to rebuild the industry with sustainable practices. Val Miftakhov, CEO of a company focused on sustainable aviation, test-flies the world's largest hydrogen-electric aircraft, aiming to address aviation's significant emissions challenge. This aircraft utilizes hydrogen in a fuel cell to power an electric motor, producing zero-carbon emissions, with water vapor as the only by-product. Without adopting decarbonizing technologies like hydrogen, aviation could contribute to 22% of global emissions by 2050. Airbus plans to introduce hydrogen-burning planes within 15 years, and the EU anticipates that hydrogen technologies could cut the industry's carbon emissions by up to 75% by 2050. However, significant obstacles remain before these technologies can be commercially viable.