Canada has the feedstock capacity and industry programs to be a world leader in aerospace decarbonization, according to a leading aerospace company.
In fact, Canada has a significant role to play by being a major supplier of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), Ross McInnes, chairman of Paris-based Safran SA, said during a presentation at the Oct. 11 to 13 Toronto Global Forum entitled, “The Pathway to Decarbonization.”
“In addition to having the necessary biomass feedstock, which, unlike Europe, is not constrained by agricultural priorities, you have companies and universities which have demonstrated the necessary technologies to move forward in this area,” he said.
However, Canada has yet to commercially produce a drop of SAF, often derived from used cooking oils, animal fats, or organic waste.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has embarked on an ambitious incentives program while the European Union has set a timeline for green fuel thresholds, whereby at least two per cent of its jet fuel must be sustainable by 2025, reaching six per cent in 2030, 20 per cent in 2035, and 70 per cent by 2050.
While SAF will play the largest role in achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, as adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, disruptive technologies (engines, making equipment lighter to reduce the overall weight of aircraft, etc.) will contribute 20 to 40 per cent towards the objective, said McInnes. Another five to 10 per cent of improvements will come from more efficient air traffic control systems, he added.
Although the industry has worked to improve its fuel economy, reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent per seat since the 1950s, we need to go twice as fast as that.
“Engines today can use up to 50 per cent SAF,” noted McInnes. “By 2035, it will be 100 per cent. There are new technologies on the horizon like hydrogen, but we can’t wait until 2050. We, as a company, have made a commitment for the mid-term (2035) to lower the CO2 emissions of our engines by 40 per cent compared to 2018.”
People want to fly, because high-speed trains are not always an option. In fact, there will be an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 new aircraft flying over the next 20 to 30 years, said McInnes.
The cost of SAF is more expensive than kerosene-based fuel, for example, but will be driven down by more volume. However, airlines need more incentives to get on board. Currently, the gap between SAF production and needs is one to 100, according to McInnes.
“We can’t have decarbonization if people see it as oppressive. Constraints have their limits. Politically, you must have the right mixture of incentives and funding and you must avoid taxing, because it doesn’t work.”
In 2022, Safran and GE Aerospace, through CFM International, signed partnership agreements with Airbus to fly two demonstrators, one testing the RISE open-fan engine architecture and the other a hydrogen engine. Demonstrations are planned for 2025 on an Airbus A380.
Safran is also helping to improve the efficiency of future aircraft through its equipment, cabin interiors, and seats businesses. Lighter cabins made using new materials and optimized electrical systems are key to making progress in these areas, noted McInnes…
