Founder of ecotricity Dale Vince has announced the launch of one of the world’s first hydrogen-electric airlines, Ecojet, powered by renewable energy.
The move will see the fleet of conventional planes retrofitted with hydrogen-electric powertrains, which, once converted a year after the firm lifts off, will operate with the same power output as before, but with a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions.
The decision to repurpose old planes rather than build new models from scratch will save 90,000 tonnes of carbon per year, ecotricity said. The only byproduct will be water, which can be captured and released into the lower atmosphere to avoid the harmful effects of contrails.
To secure routes and a license from the Civil Aviation Authority, Ecojet will initially launch using conventionally fuelled planes and a year after flights commence the retrofit programme will begin. Ecojet will launch with two different sizes of turboprop aircraft, which will then be retrofitted with the hydrogen-electric powertrains.
Vince partnered with pilot Brent Smith and a team of aviation specialists to set up Ecojet with conventional flights across the UK to start in 2024 before the retrofit programme. Starting with an Edinburgh to Southampton route, it will expand into mainland Europe, with long-haul flights planned for the future.
Aviation accounts for some 3% of global CO2 emissions, but overall contribution to the climate crisis is estimated at three times this level due to the altitude that fossil fuel pollution is released at.
The “colossal negative impact on the planet will be removed for good” the firm said, when the “viability of electric air travel is proven and electric planes are adopted by the aviation industry at-large”. Vince described the move as “the biggest revolution in the aviation industry since the invention of the jet engine”.
Dale Vince said: “The question of how to create sustainable air travel has plagued the green movement for decades, Ecojet is by far the most significant step towards a solution to date. The desire to travel is deeply etched into the human spirit, and flights free of C02 emissions, powered by renewable energy will allow us to explore our incredible world without harming it for the first time.”
Image from ecotricity
