Air NZ plans zero-emission flights

Air NZ will launch its first zeroemissions flight by 2026, four years from now, and begin replacing its Q300 domestic fleet with sustainable aircraft from 2030.

The 23 Bombardier Q300 domestic aircraft would probably use green hydrogen or battery hybrid systems, Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran said yesterday.

‘‘I think we are at that inflection point where you have actually got to start putting in money where your mouth is,’’ Foran told an event in Auckland. ‘‘And like any change it is going to be full of risk, there are going to be some challenges. None of this is going to be easy. We don’t actually have all the solutions yet.’’

The airline would spend the next three years focused on building, testing and certifying aircraft and infrastructure. By 2026, Air NZ aimed to have its first zeroemissions commercial demonstrator aircraft, either cargo or passenger, up and flying, Foran said.

Baden Smith, Air NZ head of fleet strategy, said that to renew its Q300 fleet with more sustainable aircraft from 2030, time was short and the airline needed to use a series of stepping stones. ‘‘We recognise that putting a line in the sand and saying we are wanting to do something in this space by 2026 is almost ridiculous by aviation standards.

‘‘But equally, if we don’t start this now, we won’t get to the big decarbonisation levers at the beginning of the next decade.’’

Last year, Air NZ asked aircraft developers to respond after outlining what it needed from zero-emissions aircraft. Of more than 30 responses, about 24% of the solutions were battery powered and about 38% came back with hydrogen powered solutions, Smith said.

The airline hoped to name the potential commercial demonstrators in the next few weeks. ‘‘These will be hydrogen concepts, they will be electric concepts, and potentially hybrid concepts as well. And these will be the ones that pave the way to build the infrastructure out, to build the regulations out, to build out our maintenance capability, and operational knowledge and all of those sorts of things.’’

Another group of partners will work towards the longer-term decarbonisation goals of 2030 and beyond.

One of them is Airbus. Last September, Air NZ announced it was joining forces with the global aviation giant to explore how zeroemission aircraft could be flown in New Zealand. Under the memorandum of understanding, Air NZ is to analyse the impact hydrogen aircraft may have on its network, operations and infrastructure.

Airbus will provide the airline with hydrogen aircraft performance requirements and ground operations to support the airline’s decarbonisation roadmap.

Air NZ has a goal of net zero emissions by 2050, while Airbus has ambitions to develop a zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035.

Regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is working with Air NZ on hybrid solutions and the airline expects to announce other partners by the end of the year.

Airports, regulators, the Government and energy companies needed to get on board as well, Foran said.

While zero-emissions aircraft technology will decarbonise the airline’s domestic network over the period to 2050, sustainable aviation fuel is important in the near term.

Airbus president for Asia Pacific Anand Stanley said the company saw a strong potential to develop a hydrogen cluster in New Zealand, under the leadership of Air NZ.

New Zealand was a perfect testing environment, Stanley said.

Air NZ had extensive short-haul regional and domestic operations, and the country had a high proportion of renewable energy.

Asked if the country would be ready for zero-emissions air travel, Foran said customers were already at that point.

Electric aircraft would be good for short routes, such as Tauranga to Auckland, but not feasible on a route such as Auckland to Wellington, Foran said.

For slightly longer routes, green hydrogen electric craft could work but they would not reach Australia at this point.

The only way to get further afield, to New York for example, would be by using sustainable aviation fuel.

Stanley said hydrogen was safe, had high energy density and was widely available, and it now had to reach the right economies of scale.

Airbus was currently testing the GE Safran engine for hydrogen and its other partner, Rolls-Royce, was developing a hydrogen engine.

Airbus was also developing internal propulsion and energy source types that it would look at in-house.

‘‘None of this is going to be easy.’’

Greg Foran Air NZ