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The race to create the first solar airplane

Peg Fong — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:25:41 PDT

The last barrier to greener transportation is up in the air, and if these newly designed planes can get up there, the future of air travel may look decidedly different.

While cars have been going green for decades, airplanes have remained behemoth fuel-gulping modes of transportation. EcoGeek put together a list of ways in which air travel is getting greener ... but there's a long ways to go.

That's bad news for anyone who has to travel for business reasons or can't resist that getaway to an exotic locale. But while nowhere close to being ready for commercial use, there is some green in the distant horizon. A French and a Swiss company are both trying to complete the first viable solar-powered plane.

The Solar Impulse Project, which we've discussed previously is backed by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, aims to use only solar energy to keep its aircraft up both day and night. Â The Solar Impulse plane hopes to be about 1,500 kilograms of "take-off weight" and is constructed around a skeleton of carbon fiber-honeycomb composite.

French company Lisa Airplanes is putting its efforts into the Hy-Bird project which plans to fly around the world with a 100 percent clean electric airplane powered only by solar energy and hydrogen. For take-off, the Hy-Bird will use solar photovoltaic cells affixed on the wings and on the horizontal tail and for on-board power supply. A fuel cell will then power the aircraft for cruise flight and an electric engine will propel the plane.

Booking a seat on-board won't happen any time soon. Both Hy-Bird and the Solar Impulse Project hope to take trial flights next year, but only one person will be on each of these planes. Meanwhile, unmanned solar airplanes are already in the air, with one that will be able to fly almost indefinitely is planned for the near future.

Via Inhabitat

The aircraft that will fly for five years straight

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:43:10 PDT

How's this for a compelling press release opening line: "Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that it has been awarded a contract to develop a radical new aircraft that can stay aloft for up to five years. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) made the award under a program known as 'Vulture.'"

A report in EcoGeek talks about this superplane. "It's a little bit like a spy satellite, except it can operate under its own power, and at much lower altitudes (though still in the stratosphere)."

The accompanying image, of a black flying machine wider than three 767's wingspans and hinged like three quarters of a giant flying "W" festooned with tiny propellers, is something to behold. The theory is that the hinges could open and close as needed to expose the solar-energy-collecting wings to the best sunlight angles all day long.

Cleantech adds that the hinged sections of the "W" are actually three separate vehicles that can launch separately and dock in midair. "The three constituent aircraft are each a complete, self-sufficient airplane with a wingspan of approximately 50 meters, or 164 feet." Can you imagine how amazing this thing would look as it crossed the sky?

Boeing and Lockheed are also in on this contract, and I eagerly await the first YouTube video of this solar superstar actually taking flight. What a compelling solar power proof of concept that will be.

X-Prize expanding

Hank Green — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:58:59 PDT

We love the X-Prize, right? It helped the private sector get into space and is now sponsoring a competition to create a commercially viable 100-mpg car.

But the competition isn't stopping there. The X-Prize Foundation has announced that it will be creating several new prizes for a variety of environmental categories with a total worth of $100 million.

Apparently, this new suite of X-Prizes includes the Automotive X-Prize and may also include (but isn't limited to):

Biofuels
Energy storage
Carbon capture
Solar
Water
Energy efficiency
Clean aviation fuel
The provision of basic utilities for developing nations

The basis for the need, says the CEO of the foundation, Peter Diamandis, is that progress is happening too slow.

Indeed, I tend to agree with him. Though the vast amount of news that we have to cover every day at EcoGeek is a testament to the fact that clean technology is developing quickly, solutions are not coming in fast enough.

The first new prize, for biofuels, will be launched later this year with others being rolled out over a two-year period.

The foundation hopes that each of the sectors in which it provides a prize has the potential to truly revolutionize the economy. And with 8% of venture capital funding in America already flowing into clean technology, it's likely that the foundation is right.

Details on the "Energy and Environment X-Prize Suite" (PDF) will continue to emerge throughout the next year. And while $10 million is a bit trivial in what could end up being a trillion dollar industry, it may be that the first $10 million is more important than the last $100 billion.

Via BusinessWeek

Strategies for the green-conscious air traveler

By Michael Brylawski — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:51:29 PDT

I have a few flights planned for this summer, and I'm not looking forward to them. It's not just the long security lines, crammed seats, and lack of pillows on board.

It's my eco-conscience.

The fact is that flying is a significant and growing source of climate change. Globally, aviation contributes roughly 2-3 percent of all carbon emissions.Â

High impact
That may not sound like a significant number -- cement manufacturing, after all, contributes at least 5 percent of all emissions.

But carbon from airplanes is emitted high in the atmosphere, which means it has a disproportionate effect on climate change. In fact, scientists attribute a "forcing factor" of two to two-and-a-half times to airplanes' base emissions. Thus, the contribution to climate change may be more like 6-8 percent. In industrialized nations like the UK, where affluence enables more air travel, estimates are as high as 12 percent.Â

And it's predicted to climb. Airbus and Boeing project a doubling of aircraft in the fleet over the next few decades. Some scientists say that by 2050, aviation will be one of the largest contributors to global warming.Â

Thus the guilt. Sites like www.flyingsthenewsmoking.com, www.planestupid.com, and the satirical www.spurt-aviation.com add to this feeling.Â

What's in the numbers
Numerous airports, from Seattle to Manchester (UK) to Vancouver, have undertaken "carbon accounting" to understand the impact of flying. The results are pretty consistent.Â

Take what Seattle's comprehensive 2006 greenhouse gas inventory found: When you fly, 90 percent of the total is generated by the plane; the airport itself generates about 2 percent; and getting to and from the airport contributes the rest (about 8 percent).Â

It's tempting to go after that 90 percent by flying on more fuel-efficient planes, avoiding older jets like first-generation 737s and MD-80s and opting for a newer 777 or A320, or maybe even a Q400 turboprop. But as a passenger, in the near term, choosing what you fly is nearly impossible.

There is longer-term hope on tackling that 90 percent, and we at RMI are planning to work with the industry on increasing the fuel efficiency of planes with some of our ideas in Winning the Oil Endgame.

The "negaflight"
In the near-term, however, your best option for tackling that 90 percent is not to fly. As our Chief Scientist Amory Lovins puts it, "sometimes it's advantageous to transmit electrons instead of the heavy nucleii."Â

To translate: Use your Macbook Air instead of US Air. Three months ago, I was able to keynote a conference from my living room on my video-equipped laptop.

This "virtual presentation" was not perfect, but the client was pleased, it beat the long flights, and I definitely saved carbon.

Sure, I miss the free mini-pretzels. But I also didn't absorb an excess-fuel surcharge-the commute to and from my laptop was pretty short. As technology gets better, virtual meetings will only become a more attractive option.Â

Other options
Avoiding the trip, or taking a "negaflight," is often not practical. Your client needs to see you in person, or the family is having a reunion. You need to fly.

In which case, to minimize your impact, you have to go after that 8 percent: How you get to and from the airport.Â

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to green your trip to and from the airport, and several airports are working hard to help -- the subject of my next article.

Michael Brylawski is Vice President of the Mobility / Vehicle Efficiency Practice at Rocky Mountain Institute.

Paris' Orly airport goes geothermal

Andrew Williams — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:13:13 PDT

In an exciting new departure, the owners of one of Parisâ big airports have announced plans to meet a third of its heating needs from geothermal energy.

Agence France Presse reports that two 1,700-metre deep shafts will be drilled deep under the perimeter of the cityâs Orly airport, where water heated by the Earthâs core will be drawn upwards by natural pressure. When it reaches the surface, the water, at a temperature of 74oC (165oF), will be injected into the airport's heating system.

Unveiling the plans, Pierre Graff, Chairman and MD of Aeroports de Paris (ADP) said, âWe have the unprecedented luck of having hot water below our feet that can heat a large part of Orly without CO₂ emissions. We are the first airport in Europe to do this.â

Pending the results of a feasibility study, ADP hopes that, starting from 2011, the $17 million scheme will reduce the airportâs annual CO₂ emissions by 7,000 tonnes from the current level of 20,000 tonnes.

Source - AFP

Boeing flies first hydrogen plane

Hank Green — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:16:53 PDT

Over the last couple of months, a test pilot has taken Boeing's hydrogen fuel-cell prototype up, up and away ... at low altitudes and low speeds.

Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity, but unfortunately, electricity isn't very good at powering planes. So far, it's been difficult to produce enough power in such a small, light space.

In fact, the fuel-cell airplane actually needed assistance from a lithium-ion battery pack to take off. Once in the air, however, the power came entirely from the much more energy-dense compressed hydrogen.

It doesn't look like hydrogen is going to solve our problems with consumer air travel. Boeing is hoping that the technology could find a home in unmanned or light-weight aircraft.

Via TreeHugger

Airliner showers: A very guilty pleasure

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:49:42 PDT

Conspicuous consumption will reach new heights — literally — when Emirates Airlines begins offering in-flight hot showers to its first-class customers. The service will be part of the deluxe accommodations provided when the airline starts operating its A380 superjumbo flights between New York and Dubai this fall. Eventually Emirates will have 50 A380s in the air with hot showers in abundance. LuxuryLaunches has all the details.

What's the problem? According to the fascinating environmental watchdog group Plane Stupid, the plane will have to carry a ton of water to provide first-class showers for all, and the carbon cost is 48,544 pounds for a round-trip flight. (Tickets cost $18,000.)

Plane Stupid's Robbie Gillett was quoted as saying, "The richest 18 percent in this country (Britain) take 54 percent of all flights. The government is telling us to take fewer flights, but the huge increase in air traffic is not due to ordinary people going on family holidays, but because of excessive flying by the moneyed classes. Is this the type of development the aviation industry really needs?"

I'm not sure a class war is needed over this issue. Common sense should suffice. Shouldn't you be clean enough when you board a long-haul flight to last 10 hours without getting funky?

When is a flight too empty to fly?

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:58:05 PDT

A few years ago I was scheduled to fly from New York to London on the first of American Airlines' three nightly departures. As the departure time came and went it became clear something was wrong. Soon enough, my flight was cancelled, and all of the passengers were jammed onto the second flight, which left two hours later. Many of us missed connecting flights at Heathrow, and my Swiss vacation got off to a rocky start.

The airline never gave a clear reason why my flight was cancelled, but I suspected they just didn't feel like flying two half-empty planes when they could fly one full one. Obviously I felt at the time that both flights should fly, but in retrospect, isn't that a rather un-green way of thinking?

The issue boiled up recently when it was reported that American flew a huge Boeing 777 from Chicago to London in February with only five passengers aboard. According to reports, the five people were leftover from a flight that had been cancelled earlier in the day, and the airline felt obligated to get them to London and to get the plane where it needed to be to bring another load of people back from Europe on time.

That all makes a certain sense, but still, what about the 22,000 gallons of jet fuel burned in the process (creating 43 tons of C02 per person)?

Could it be that I actually feel a little sorry for American Airlines? Thrust into a no-win situation, it erred on the side of customer service and scheduling at the expense of the environment. From the comfort of my home I feel it was a mistake, but if I had been one of those five passengers stuck at O'Hare, you can be sure I would have been eager for that plane to fly.

Virgin Atlantic's first biofuel flight

Hank Green — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:45:49 PST

In a 747 containing a stunning 5% biofuel, Virgin Atlantic proved that you can indeed fly a plane on biodiesel.

There was actually some question as to whether it would be possible, because jet fuel has to stay liquid and non-viscous at extremely low temperatures. Most biodiesel at those temperatures would become too thick to feed into the engines.

However, a new biofuel start-up in Seattle, Imperium, created a mixture that stayed usable when mixed in ratios up to 40:60 with jet fuel.

The Virgin flight ran one of the four engines on a 20:80 mix of the Imperium fuel, for an overall replacement of 1/20th of the fuel used on the flight.

Of course, with recent fears over the sustainability of biofuels due to replacement of food crops and deforestation, it's unclear whether biodiesel is going to escape from this battle intact. Only if large-scale production of biodiesel from algae hits the mainstream will we see this technology taking off.

Ethanol has more of a future, as it's easier to produce it in mass quantities from waste products. However, ethanol contains less energy than biodiesel per gram, which is a trade-off the airline industry is unlikely to make, even if they can get it to run in jet engines.

Via the Wall Street Journal

Bauhaus Luftfahrt aims for more efficient flight

Jack Moins — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:53:22 PST

Jets are big, polluting, noisy, right? Not necessarily! EcoGeek recently covered the European Unionâs Clean Skies initiative, which mandats carbon emissions cuts. Now, some firms are embracing these cuts, worldwide calls for reduced emissions, and the reality that it can be profitable to simply design better instead of purchasing expensive carbon credits.

These aerospace firms are looking to reduce carbon in different ingenious and outlandish ways. Reaction Engines got a lot of attention from ecogeeks when it announced a hypersonic, hydrogen fueled super-jet.

Now another enterprising firm, German non-profit Bauhaus Luftfahrt, is making some waves of its own, promising emissions cuts of 35 percent by 2035, with many clever steps.

One basic step it outlines is the adoption of geared turbofan technology in conventional engines, resulting in a 15 percent reduction CO2 emissions. Next it recommends equipping these same engines with counter fans, upping the reduction by an another 5 percent.

Finally by incorporating waste recuperation, another 15 percent efficiency could be squeezed out. And thatâs not all -- Bauhaus is also working on an exotic looking box-winged aircraft to further cut into reductions.

The only downside is that the global aircraft fleet is expected to double by 2020, due to increased demand. Still this certainly doesn't detract from the excitement of work such as Bauhausâ -- it simply shows how much more essential it is.

EU spending $2.5B on green planes

Jack Moins — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:15:36 PST

An airplane running on hydrogen or cellulosic ethanol? The idea may seem sound outlandish, but if properly designed, the less polluting, quieter planes would be a very attractive proposition.

That's why the European Union is partnering with the European aerospace industry to provide a 1.6B euro ($2.4B USD) research project grant to explore innovative technologies, including alternative fuel aircraft. The project is dubbed the âClean Skyâ project. The EU will provide 800 million euros from its 2007-2013 budget, and the industry is putting up an equivalent figure.

Participating aerospace firms are agreeing to share their research, which should create a valuable exchange of innovative solutions. Among the ideas being explored are engines that use alternative fuels and more efficient engines to conserve fuel.

Also being explored are technologies to make aircraft less noisy. This both helps to reduce noise pollution around airports, a frequent urban problem, and provides passengers with a quieter, more relaxing ride.

Marc Vantre, CEO of French conglomerate Safran's aerospace propulsion division, highlighted the key metrics in an address to reporters, stating, âThere are three main objectives: the reduction by 50 percent of carbon dioxide, halving the level of noise and reducing by 80 percent the level of nitrogen oxide emissions.â

A total of 16 of the European Union's member nations have non-government entities participating in the project, with 54 industries, 15 research centers, and 17 universities from these nations on-board.

Saab's aircraft division is among the investors. Ake Svensson, CEO of the Swedish company states, âSo far we are allocating about 150 million Swedish crowns ($23.67 million) for taking part in two programs, the smart fixed wing initiative and green operations, where it's not only about what you fly but how you fly.â

A provisional executive committee will determine how patents and technologies developed in the Clean Sky project are shared among companies. The move is fueled in solid economics as many of the technologies discovered are expected to bring large cost savings to the airline industry by improving fuel economy.

The EU sees the program as essential to remaining competitive with the U.S., which launched a similar aeronautics research and development policy in 2006.

Hypersonic hydrogen plane: the future of flight?

Gavin D.J. Harper — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:48:50 PST

Well ... it's far from being a prototype, but with everyone racking their brains about how aviation can continue in a world where we are all tightening our carbon belts, there is a consensus that the days of air-travel powered by Jet A1 are numbered.

Hope for intercontinental eco-savvy globe trotters could come from a small firm in Oxfordshire, UK, who claim to have designed a hypersonic plane that can do the jaunt from the UK to Australia in under five hours.

With a top speed of 4000, it's fast, and there are claims that it could be prototyped within 25 years - by which time aviation fuel and environmental taxes will surely have made air travel blindingly expensive.

Hypersonic flight has been achieved before, but whether it could be sustained on a scale to make it commercially viable is yet to be seen.

However, at EcoGeek, we like the fact that it runs on "liquid hydrogen." Whilst the bulk of hydrogen is currently produced from those nasty fossil fuels at the moment, hydrogen does offer a solution as an energy carrier in a post-carbon world, and if Reaction Engines' design does "take off," combined with clean sources of hydrogen, it could go a long way toward making air travel sustainable.

Via BBC World

Going home green

Kastle Waserman — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:27:00 PST

Folks are reconnecting with relatives or taking vacations during the holiday seasonâbut, oh, what all that flying does to our carbon footprints!

We found a few ways to offset our upcoming travels plans just by making smarter travel choices.

Many ground-transportation companies have gotten the message that people want to drive green, even for short trips. Businesses such as Eco Limo in California and Washington DC and Green Cab in San Francisco, CA, offer alternative-fuel rides to and from the airport.

If you're staying within a small area, try renting a bike, or better yet, bring your own: Bike Friday makes portable bicycles that fold into a suitcase.

If your relatives aren't hosting you for the holidays, consider booking a green hotel in the area. Environmentally-minded accommodations are popping up in hot spots such as Santa Monica, California, which is home to the Ambrose, whose operations include non-toxic housekeeping methods and wind-powered guest rooms.

Look on Orbitz for more eco-friendly hotels in the state you'll be visiting.

And of course, while you may go as green as possible, there's no getting around that airplane ride when your family lives across the country. This is where the idea of carbon offsets âpayback timeâcomes in.

CabonFund provides a way to relieve your guilt by calculating your carbon offset in a dollar amount and allowing you to donate to your choice of carbon-reducing projects such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, and reforestation projects.

Three airships that might fly you to Europe someday

Hank Green — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:18:19 PST

We at EcoGeek have a crush on airships. They're elegant, efficient, exciting, and require very little infrastructure. Airships have the potential to be more efficient than airplanes, cars, and even passenger trains and barges.

In a carbon-conscious world, passenger flight is difficult to rationalize. But we've got to get from point A to point B -- there are births, funerals, weddings, and graduations to attend. Right now, there's no alternative to traditional heavier-than-air travel.

Here are three airships that have a good chance at changing that:

The Aeroscraft

Aeroscraft comes first because it seems both more ambitious and farther along in development than the others. As lighter-than-air (LTA) craft are completely subject to the weather when not under their own propulsion, low-speed control is a big deal. Aeroscraft has kept that in its sights.

Their current project is a small airship designed to be a luxury cabin for the Ã¼ber-wealthy, or a commercial transport for tourism (complete with a glass bottom). Neither are particularly environmentally friendly but both are significant steps toward larger projects.

The SkyCat

While SkyCat has a less impressive marketing department, their initiative is nonetheless impressive. A working one-sixth scale mock-up (the SkyKitten) already has been produced and flown by remote control.

The mock-up was a success, and their first prototype airship (the SkyCat 20) is under construction and slated to be operational in 2009.

SkyCat is focusing primarily on the shipping industry, at least in the beginning, hoping to fill the gap between high-speed (expensive) air freight and low-speed (cheap) ground freight.

SkyFreighter

Another airship company focusing on freight is Canada's SkyFreighter. They started out as part of a US Defense project for an amphibious LTA craft (the Walrus Program). But now they're looking at both military and commercial possibilities.

Unfortunately, it looks as if they're stuck at the engineering level. Since the Walrus Program was cancelled, their funding has stalled.

But they're still planning for a possible U.S. to Canada LTA shipping route. With competition like Aeroscraft and SkyCat, they're gonna have to fight to stay alive.

Continue to EcoGeek for video of airships in action.

Also from EcoGeek:
Prototype Manta blimp video
NY to London for $200
The return of the airship
9 steps to greener flight

Flying manta ray blimp is extremely awesome

Philip Proefrock — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:56:06 PST

As regular readers are well aware, airships are a familiar favorite of ours. And bio-mimicry is the modeling of natural methods and processes in technological designs.

So you'd be hard-pressed to find a more EcoGeeky convergence of concepts than this lightweight (1.6 kg; about 3.5 pounds) airship from Festo Robotics that moves around like a manta ray in the air.

Lightweight actuators and a semi-rigid frame allow the flapping motion that propels it around. It literally swims through the air.

You need to see this thing in action to really appreciate it. The video plays automatically after the jump.

It's unlikely that this would ever be directly adapted to passenger uses. While it may not immediately appear to have practical uses (and looking at it, one wonders how it would fare in a stiff breeze), a commercial application coming at some time in the future doesn't seem out of the question.

Link: Festo Air Ray (PDF)