Henrik Hololei, Director General, DG MOVE, interview on sustainable transport, innovation and urban mobility
An excellent and wide ranging interview on Arirang Global Insight given by the Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport. Covering a number of important discussion points particularly on the topics of sustainability for aviation and for maritime, the importance of innovation and unlocking the potential of new technologies, and opportunities for intelligent transport solutions (ITS) and how they must meet the user expectations of the public.
Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation.
EASA publishes the European Aviation Environment Report 2022
The report has been prepared by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with support from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and EUROCONTROL. There is a lot of information contained in the report covering aircraft noise, aircraft emissions, airport operations, air traffic management and operations, and market based measures for carbon offsetting.
Emissions:
The CO2 emissions of all flights departing from EU27+EFTA airports reached 147 million tonnes in 2019, which was 34% more than in 2005. Long-haul flights (above 4,000 km) represented approximately 6% of departures during 2019 and half of all CO2 and NOX emissions. In 2050, it is predicted that in-sector measures could reduce CO2 emissions by 69% to 59 million tonnes compared to a business-as-usual “technology freeze” scenario (19% from Technology/Design, 8% from ATM-Ops, 37% from SAF and 5% from electric/ hydrogen aircraft).
SAF:
Current SAF supply remains low at less than 0.05% of total EU aviation fuel use. The European Commission has proposed a SAF blending mandate for fuel supplied to EU airports, with minimum shares of SAF gradually increasing from 2% in 2025 to 63% in 2050, and a sub-mandate for Power-to-Liquid SAF. To achieve this mandate, approximately 2.3 million tonnes of SAF would be required by 2030, 14.8 million tonnes by 2040, and 28.6 million tonnes by 2050.
Currently certified SAF are subject to a maximum blending ratio of 50% with fossil-based jet fuel depending on the feedstock-production pathway considered, but industry and fuel standard committees are looking into the future use of 100% SAF by 2030. While SAF are currently more expensive than fossil- based jet fuel, cost savings are expected notably through future production economies of scale. SAF prices can vary depending on the production pathway, associated production costs and fluctuations in the energy market.
European Aviation Environmental Report 2022: Sustainability crucial for long-term viability of the…
BRUSSELS, Sept 21, 2022 – The aviation sector has taken some steps to address its impacts on the environment and…
US Department of Energy releases Roadmap for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production
The US Department of Energy (DOE) releases the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge Roadmap outlining their strategy for scaling up new technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).
The strategy is a government-wide approach to work with Industry to reduce cost, enhance sustainability and expand production to achieve by 2030 the production of 3 billion gallons per year of domestic SAF that achieve a minimum of a 50% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fuel.
The roadmap also helps position the US as an exporter of SAF technology and fuels to support other countries in their efforts to decarbonise aviation.
The roadmap is a product of collaboration between the US Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The roadmap lays out six action areas:
- Feedstock Innovation
- Conversion Technology Innovation
- Building Supply Chains
- Policy and Valuation Analysis
- Enabling End Use
- Communicating Progress and Building Support
Source: www.energy.gov
Urban Mobility and Electric Scooters, European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) pros and cons
The European Parliament Research Service have published an interesting blog post on the role of electric scooters as an Urban Mobility solution. In recent years many of these services have become well established in many European cities.
Today, more than 70 % of the European Union (EU) population lives in cities — and this is projected to reach almost 84 % in 2050.
New transport modes need to be looked at for urban mobility, transport modes that have a lower carbon footprint, and contribute less pollution and noise to the urban environment.
The blog post notes that it’s not just companies offering ride-sharing platforms gaining popularity, the number of private e-scooters is also increasing steadily — 8% of EU citizens (mainly in big cities) use a privately owned bike or scooter as their main mode of daily transport.
EuroControl Event on the 4th of October, Where next for European Aviation?
There is still time to register for this event taking place in Brussels on the 4th of October in Brussels.
European aviation may be back to around 90% of pre-pandemic traffic levels, but 2022, and especially the busy summer season, has been hugely turbulent. Staff shortages across the value chain have created a perfect storm for travellers, while rising fuel costs and spiralling inflation triggered by Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine threaten a difficult winter for aviation and for Europe’s citizens.
There is an excellent lineup of speakers.
Where to next for European aviation?
European aviation may be back to around 90% of pre-pandemic traffic levels, but 2022, and especially the busy summer…
For more information on these topics or to discuss other transport policy areas, don’t hesitate to get in touch.