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UK to launch world’s first-ever net zero transatlantic flight in 2023
The UK will launch the first-ever net zero transatlantic flight will take off next year as part of a pioneering research project to fly across the pond using solely sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Virgin Atlantic will receive UK government funding for the landmark flight from London Heathrow to New York’s John F Kennedy Airport in 2023.
The flight – on one of Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Boeing 787s, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines – is expected to be fuelled by SAF made primarily from waste oils and fats, such as used cooking oil. The use of 100 per cent SAF on the flight, combined with carbon removal through biochar credits – a material which traps and stores carbon taken from the atmosphere – will make the flight net zero.
When fully replacing kerosene, SAF can slash lifecycle carbon emissions by over 70 per cent compared to conventional fossil jet fuel. Not only will SAF be key in decarbonizing aviation, but it could create a UK industry with an annual turnover of £2.4bn by 2040, and support up to 5,200 UK jobs by 2035.
The University of Sheffield is part of the British consortium leading the project, which also includes Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Imperial College London, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and ICF.
The University of Sheffield’s Energy Institute will be working with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the aviation industry and operational partners to ensure the scientific integrity of the data used in the project, and to demonstrate the leading role and reputation of UK academia as a global knowledge centre for research that advances net zero aviation.
The University of Sheffield’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Center (SAF-IC) – the first center of its kind in the UK and located on the Sheffield and Rotherham border – will undertake the pre-screening of SAF at its world-class SAF characterization lab. SAF-IC will test, validate and certify new SAF, providing the UK with much-needed testing capabilities to facilitate ASTM approvals and bring SAF fuels to the market.
Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, Head of the University of Sheffield Energy Institute, said “We are delighted to be working on this prestigious and timely project to deliver the first transatlantic net-zero flight.
“Through this partnership of world-leading aviation experts from industrial and academic backgrounds, we’re going to help make sustainable aviation fuels a reality for long-haul flights.
“The facilities at the University of Sheffield – including the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre – are the first of their kind in the UK and are at the cutting edge of SAF development, characterization and testing. We’re excited to join this project to deliver the fuel which will drive the decarbonization of the aviation sector, and secure greener, cleaner flights for the future.”
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