Airplanes consume a lot of energy but they don't use sustainable fuels. Yet Europe has faced the problem of how to reduce emissions from both scheduled and charter flights Civil aviation (at least that one) must be decarbonised so we need to push on the search for alternative fuels. The summit of European civil aviation in Sorrento ended with watchwords such as reconciliation with the environment, respecting the safety, both safety and security, of the passenger and the protection of the public interest.” Gather around a table – said the ENAC Director General and President of the European Civil Aviation Conference Alessio Quaranta – takes on an even more important meaning in a period like the current one, in which the economic crisis, a consequence of the pandemic and geopolitical problems, has affected the whole sector".
THREE YEARS OF STUDY FOR NEW FUELS
Civil aviation has long been under scrutiny with growing criticism for the impacts on the environment. In Europe, however, there is still no common course of action, just analysis, while countries start to move on their own. In recent days, the Draghi government has made decisions that look to the future and can be exported to different contexts. The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Turin Polytechnic have signed a collaboration agreement for the use of new fuels in aviation. Italy boasts to date also i projects more innovative in other fields of energy research. The work with the Polytechnic concerns civil aviation, because the steps are different for the military one. The agreement has a duration of three years and together with Enac it turns towards "a roadmap for achieving the sector's decarbonisation objectives, its integration into international initiatives (UN-ICAO) and European". The reference framework also concerns the monitoring that the EU has begun to carry out on the progress of sector policies and on energy consumption in the various production sectors. It is a complex process which, in addition to costs, involves technical adjustments in the airports and the issue of new regulations. This year's increases in tariffs – starting from the low cost ones – for the fuel item, make the use of non-polluting products at contained costs irreversible in a few years. A short-haul airliner consumes an average of 70/80 liters of kerosene for every minute of flight.
THE TURIN POLITECNICO LOOKS AT THE FIT FOR 55
Italy is working on a technological-industrial plan and for this reason it wants to analyze biofuels well (Sustainable Aviation Fuels – SAF), with a view to the European Fit for 55 package. From an economic point of view, the analysis concerns the evolution of the production costs of SAF, as well as the policy proposals and regulatory activities to encourage their diffusion and use. The decarbonisation of the aviation sector – says the Minister of Infrastructure Enrico Giovannini – is mobilizing the companies in the sector, the regulatory bodies and the ministries of many countries”. If the road map is respected, Italy with the Turin Polytechnic will be able to make proposals in the various international forums. Like the one in Sorrento in recent days or the General Assembly of civil aviation on 27 September in Montreal. It is in these venues that rules are defined as long as they are based on good technical-economic analyses. ENAC, for its part, is clear what it intends to do to reduce emissions in the sky without wasting energy. The development of the aeronautical sector consists in combining the interests of aviation with the environmental needs of the community in a balanced way. And what are the airlines to do? They must feel committed to a "strategic aviation plan for the environment". Guido Saracco, Rector of the Turin Polytechnic, on the sidelines of the agreement with the government, he ensures all the collaboration of the departments of his university.
HIGH COSTS OF FUEL HURT TRAVELERS
An achievable goal is the one indicated in June by the EU Transport and Tourism Commission, i.e. that airport managers must adopt the adoption of sustainable fuels since this theme too is one of the climate neutrality objectives for 2050. In a nutshell, civil aviation should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2005. This means making agreements with fuel producers and banks to finance all necessary technical operations. According to some calculations, an Airbus 330 for a long-haul flight today spends around 100 euros on propellant. Costs and energy that are not sustainable in the long term if not through an increase in tickets. Finally, it is interesting to know that for sustainable fuels, the European Commission also means i recyclable carbon-based fuels produced from waste treatment gases and waste gases from industrial processes. The Ministry-Polytechnic of Turin agreement will have its say.
Very interesting