NATS recently announced that it is on course to achieve an average 10% reduction of CO2 per flight by 2020. This impressive reduction has been achieved by improved internal sustainability procedures, with staff commuting less, recycling more and using alternative energy sources such as solar power wherever possible. However, the major impact has been made by working out the most fuel-efficient (and therefore least polluting) trajectory for flights, which was displayed at its best during the ‘perfect flight’ between Heathrow and Edinburgh which NATS was part of.
In fact, NATS intends to help other air navigation service providers achieve the same, and even expand it by applying its procedures internationally, which it has done in its partnership with the Irish Aviation Authority which created Europe’s first functional airspace block as part of the Single European Sky programme. Overall, the company intends to make its buildings and day-to-day activities carbon neutral by 2011.
Elsewhere, in a sign of the growing importance of aviation biofuels, Air China, one of China’s top three air carriers, recently announced that it is looking to supply its aircrafts with algae-based biofuel – possibly as soon as the first or second quarter of 2011. So far the company has begun work with Boeing and the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology to jointly set up a lab for researching sustainable aviation biofuels in Qingdao in Eastern China.
Looking further afield, there are other technologies being developed. Whilst not 100% ready for commercial use, they may offer a glimpse at the future of flight. One recent zero-emissions technology is the Dragonfly personal helicopter. This vehicle, which weighs 230lbs, can fly for 90 minutes using hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst. Though currently only useful for one-man flight, and very expensive to run, who knows where these technological developments could lead aviation in a few years?
