AnalysisClimate change: is entrepreneurship the magic touch for turning zero-emission planes and ships into commercial reality?

If left unabated, the aviation industry’s contribution to climate impact could reach 25 to 50 per cent by 2050

While electric cars are already all the rage, zero-emission ships and planes are mostly research projects, unlikely to be commercially deployed for the next 15 years

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Published: 10:00am, 27 Nov 2021Updated: 12:15pm, 27 Nov 2021

When Tesla beat expectations in 2017 and delivered 102,000 electric cars to customers, the feat inspired an entrepreneur born in the former Soviet Union to think big: one day, battery packs can power airplanes too, not just cars.

Valery Miftakhov, who holds a doctorate in physics from Princeton University, founded the start-up ZeroAvia that same year and developed a system for running electric motors with hydrogen fuel cells. With backing from the UK government, British Airways, private investors – including Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures as one of the most active funders – and commercial partners, the company tested the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell flight last year.

ZeroAvia, based in the village of Cranfield north west of London, is aiming to start offering commercial flights by 2024, using aircraft with 10 to 20 seats with a range of 350 nautical miles (648 kilometres). The company plans to fly planes with the capacity for 80 passengers and 500-nautical mile range by 2026, and 100-seat, single-aisle jets by 2030.

“Elon Musk catalysed the electric vehicle revolution, and we intend to do the same in aviation,” Miftakhov said in a video interview with South China Morning Post. “Aviation is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, [which is] why regulators worldwide are pushing for green aviation and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”