Customcells, a Germany-based battery developer, has closed a €60-million Series A funding round. Europe’s leading climate-tech venture capitalist World Fund is a lead investor together with the Hamburg family office Abacon Capital. With the money, Customcells wants to expand its activities in the electrification of air traffic, intensify research and... Read more →

Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney have signed a joint agreement with Virginia Tech for pre-competitive research focused on the impact of environmental contaminants on aeroengine operation and testing. The four-year project will leverage Virginia Tech’s research and cross-discipline expertise on engine operation, instrumentation, and geosciences as well as the current... Read more →

Airbus is developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine. The propulsion system is being considered as one of the potential solutions to equip its zero-emission aircraft that will enter service by 2035. Airbus will start ground and flight testing this fuel cell engine architecture onboard its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft towards the... Read more →

Airbus and Renault Group signed a research and development agreement which aims at enhancing transversalities and synergies to accelerate both companies’ electrification roadmaps, improving their respective range of products. This partnership will help Airbus mature technologies associated with future hybrid-electric aircraft. As part of this partnership, Airbus’ and Renault Group’s... Read more →

Rolls-Royce and easyJet report the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen. The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power. It marks a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero carbon aviation fuel... Read more →

Neste and CIM, part of NOVEN Group in France, the leading independent French group of companies providing oil storage and supply services, are collaborating to enable the supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel into France. The collaboration enables fuel marketing companies to comply with the French mandate for sustainable... Read more →

Airbus is developing innovative cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks to support future aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen needs to be stored at -253 °C. In its simplest terms, says Airbus, there are two main technologies that enable an aircraft to fly directly with hydrogen. You can power an engine... Read more →

Ampaire’s Eco Caravan, a nine-seat regional aircraft, made its first flight on a fully-integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system. Ampaire expects it to be the first electrified regional aircraft to enter commercial service (certification in 2024) and the first in a series of larger Ampaire hybrid-electric aircraft. (Earlier post.) The Eco Caravan... Read more →

Aviation H2 has commenced testing on a Swiwin SW170b-2448 turbine, using jet A fuel to develop the baseline data required to compare the engine’s performance once they convert it to a carbon-free fuel. With the initial trials complete, the company will start pulling apart the engine and designing the modifications,... Read more →

Archer Aviation publicly unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA. Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its proprietary twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies. Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has successfully entered the final phase of testing it’s ALECSys (Advanced Low Emissions Combustion System) demonstrator engine, this time at altitude. (Earlier post.) The demonstrator took to the skies attached to the Rolls-Royce Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed in Tucson, Arizona. The test program has included flights up to... Read more →

Archer Aviation and E-One Moli Energy Corp. (Molicel), a supplier of lithium-ion battery cells, entered into a memorandum of understanding for Molicel to manufacture and supply the battery cells for Archer’s production electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight. Archer is focused on building an aircraft tailored to the... Read more →

United Airlines Ventures (UAV) announced a strategic investment in NEXT Renewable Fuels (NEXT), which is permitting a flagship biofuel refinery in Port Westward, Oregon, with expected production beginning in 2026. NEXT is a Houston-based company developing the biorefinery which, at full production, could produce up to 50,000 barrels per day... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research Travel by air plummeted at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 (as did travel by other modes of transportation). There has been, however, a gradual rebound since then. In terms of revenue passenger miles (for domestic flights) the lowest point was reached... Read more →

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and Garmin, a leading provider of aviation technologies and solutions, entered into an agreement for Garmin to supply the G3000 integrated flight deck for Midnight, Archer’s production aircraft. The G3000 system is the first touchscreen-controlled... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nusantara Capital City Authority (Indonesia: Otorita Ibu Kota Nusantara, OIKN) to work together to establish an advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystem in Indonesia. The MoU was executed during the B20 summit in Indonesia. The MoU aims to introduce AAM... Read more →

11/14/2022 The selection of the site for its manufacturing facility represents a key next step as Archer works towards its goal of being first in the industry to bring up a high-capacity production facility. Archer plans to initially build out a 350,000 square-foot facility, capable of producing up to 650... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) announced their first airport-to-city-center route between United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and New York City. The Downtown Manhattan Heliport, located just above Battery Park on Pier 6, has been confirmed as the first planned takeoff and landing site as part... Read more →

DG Fuels (DGF), a provider of cellulosic drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), signed a multi-year SAF offtake agreement with Air France KLM for up to 60,408 metric tons (21 million gallons) per year from DGF’s initial plant to be located in Louisiana. The contract is expected to make Air France... Read more →

LiquidPiston announced a $9-million award from the US Army to design, build and demonstrate an advanced, heavy-fueled combustion engine that uses up to 30% less fuel than comparable gasoline-powered engines in the same power class and reduces size and weight by up to 10x over diesel engines with comparable power... Read more →

NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission is mapping the prevalence of key minerals in the planet’s dust-producing deserts—information that will advance our understanding of airborne dust’s effects on climate. But EMIT has demonstrated another capability: detecting the presence of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In the data... Read more →

Ionblox (previously known as Zenlabs Energy, earlier post), a high-performance lithium-ion cell company, closed a $24-million Series B investment round with Lilium, developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet (earlier post); Applied Ventures, LLC; Catalus Capital, a multi-strategy private equity firm; and a global investment company. Ionblox... Read more →

American Airlines made a strategic equity investment in Universal Hydrogen Co., a company building a green hydrogen distribution and logistics network for aviation. (Earlier post.) This investment makes American the first US airline to make two direct investments focused on the development of both hydrogen-electric propulsion technology and the future... Read more →

Neste will supply the Air France-KLM Group with more than 1,000,000 tons (approximately 1.26 billion liters or 333 million gallons US) of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ over a period of 8 years starting in 2023. This SAF agreement is one of the largest of its kind in the aviation... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alder Fuels, a process technology and project development company in the low-carbon transportation fuels industry (earlier post), to test Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) produced based on Alder Fuels’ proprietary greencrude technology (AGC). The testing, which will include flight tests on a... Read more →

BAE Systems and Supernal will partner to design and develop the flight control computer for Supernal’s electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle. In support of Supernal—an advanced air mobility company from Hyundai Motor Group (earlier post)—BAE Systems will help define the architecture of a lightweight, fly-by-wire system for its... Read more →

In continuation of their joint research for a next-generation small aircraft, as announced June last year, Yamaha Motor and ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. conducted an early-stage test flight of a prototype small aircraft at the Fujikawa Gliding Field in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan on 21 September. The aircraft tested was an R&D...; Read more →

Honeywell announced a new ethanol-to-jet fuel (ETJ) processing technology that allows producers to convert corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Depending on the type of ethanol feedstock used, jet fuel produced from Honeywell’s ethanol-to-jet fuel process can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80%... Read more →

Approaching an airport runway for landing entails reducing speed, extending flaps, speed brakes and much more—all with as little noise and fuel consumption as possible. Moreover, air traffic control restricts the approach profile, and weather conditions are sometimes only vaguely known. In short, in addition to wind and other factors,... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed determination that emissions of lead from aircraft that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA reviews information on air pollutants and... Read more →

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established a 2050 net-zero carbon dioxide emission goal for international aviation. That agreement came at the ICAO 41st Assembly in Montreal after almost a decade of negotiations, and reflects increased urgency to align aviation with the Paris Agreement. Previous ICAO negotiations have focused... Read more →

UK-based ZeroAvia, a developer of zero-emission solutions for commercial aviation, acquired in full the high-temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cell stack innovator HyPoint. (Earlier post.) The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. HyPoint’s core innovation is a new turbo air-cooling architecture. By utilizing compressed air for both cooling and... Read more →

Wisk Aero, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, revealed the first self-flying, all-electric, four-passenger vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. As Wisk’s go-to-market aircraft, Generation 6 represents the first candidate for type certification by the FAA of an autonomous eVTOL. Generation 6 combines autonomous technology and software, human oversight... Read more →

Researchers have used a novel near-infrared light imaging technique to capture the first cross-sectional images of carbon dioxide in the exhaust plume of a commercial jet engine. The technique—using chemical species tomography—could help accelerate turbine combustion research aimed at developing engines and aviation fuels that are more environmentally friendly. The... Read more →

Raven SR, a renewable fuels company, and Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to integrate their respective technologies into an advanced system for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel. The resulting production platform will include Raven SR’s patented Steam/CO2 Reformer process (earlier post) and... Read more →

The first fully electric commuter plane Alice from Eviation Aircraft (earlier post) successfully completed its maiden flight at Moses Lake, Washington. Alice lifted off on 27 Sep at 7:10 a.m. from Grant County International Airport (MWH), flying for a total of eight minutes and reaching an altitude of 3,500 feet.... Read more →

A tax on frequent flying could generate revenues needed to deeply decarbonize aviation through midcentury while concentrating the cost burden on those who fly the most, according to a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation. (ICCT) The study comes as policymakers gather in Montreal this week to... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge Roadmap outlining a government-wide strategy for scaling up new technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) across the US airline industry. The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge is a US government-wide approach to work with industry... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Washington State University have developed a a process by which lignin can be selectively converted to jet-range aromatics at unprecedented carbon yields, providing a path toward a 100% drop-in sustainable aviation... Read more →

LiquidPiston announced a $1.7-million Phase II award from the US Army to continue the development of the company’s Hybrid Electric X-Engine (HEXE) propulsion system. (Earlier post.) The Phase II award is a result of successful completion of a Phase I xTechSearch Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award previously announced. LiquidPiston’s... Read more →

Aemetis, Inc., a renewable fuels company focused on negative carbon intensity products, announced that $7 billion of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD) supply agreements have been signed with 10 airlines for a total of 916 million gallons of blended SAF. Previously, Aemetis announced a contract with a... Read more →

Enviva, the leading producer of sustainably sourced woody biomass, and Alder Fuels, a clean tech developer and greencrude producer, signed a contract for the long-term, large-scale supply of woody biomass from Enviva, which sources low-value fiber, such as forest byproducts such as tree tops, limbs, and commercial thinnings, to commercialize... Read more →

ETH Zurich spin-off Synhelion has started the construction of DAWN—its own industrial plant to produce synthetic fuels using solar heat. (Earlier post.) Located in Jülich, Germany, the facility will demonstrate the entire process from concentrating sunlight to producing synthetic liquid fuel on an industrial scale. The production process—using only solar... Read more →

Avfuel Corporation, via Avfuel Technology Initiatives Corporation (ATIC), will collaborate with General Aviation Modifications, Inc., (GAMI), on the commercialization of the engineering company’s high-octane unleaded avgas, G100UL. On 1 September, GAMI received a functional fleet-wide approval from the FAA for G100UL avgas via the long-standing STC process, fulfilling a key... Read more →

The California legislature has passed AB 1322 (R. Rivas); the bill requires the California Air Resources Board to develop an incentives-based plan to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other alternatives to jet fuel to reduce the impact of commercial aviation on climate change. Specifically, this bill... Read more →

MintAir Co. Ltd. signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Jaunt Air Mobility LLC to form a strategic partnership and to purchase Jaunt Journey electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. MintAir has agreed to order up to 40 of Jaunt's aircraft to bring air mobility services to the Korean... Read more →

New Zealand-based Fabrum, a leader in zero-emissions transition and fluid systems engineering company Filton Systems Engineering (FSE) have joined forces with GKN Aerospace to help shift aviation towards hydrogen flight with end-to-end hydrogen fuel system technology. GKN Aerospace is the world’s leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier; with 38 manufacturing... Read more →

Quantum computing company IonQ will collaborate with Airbus to explore the potential application and benefits of quantum computing for aerospace services and passenger experiences. The Quantum Aircraft Loading Optimization & Quantum Machine Learning project will be a 12-month project that culminates in the development of a prototype aircraft-loading quantum application,... Read more →

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced an expansion of its existing contract with the US Air Force’s Agility Prime program that increases the contract’s potential value by more than $45 million. Agility Prime, launched in April 2020, is the Air Force’s collaborative... Read more →

Archer Aviation has received a $10-million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines for 100 of the company’s initial production eVTOL aircraft. United is making the deposit on 100 of Archer’s production aircraft which it agreed to purchase in 2021. Archer recently completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for its production aircraft—now... Read more →