Inside Airbus’ UK Zero Emissions Development Centre

Achieving net zero is a global cross-sector effort. But fewer industries face a bigger challenge than civil aviation. IBA, a leading consultancy for the sector, forecasted aviation’s CO2 emissions for 2022 to reach 800 million tonnes — a figure standing at 36 per cent higher than in 2021 — and predicted that in 2023, emissions will match the pre-pandemic peak of 916 million tonnes in 2019.

All of the sector’s major players are aware of the scale of the challenge, and  exploring solutions ranging from sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to the application of  hydrogen technologies.

One company feeling optimistic about the task ahead is the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which is confident that by 2035 it will be able to introduce its first ever zero-emission commercial aircraft into service, the hydrogen-powered ‘ZEROe’.

To test the technologies needed to bring it to fruition, the Airbus Zero Emissions Development Centre has launched at its Filton base in Bristol, UK. The Filton ZEDC was established earlier this year with a focus on developing a cost-competitive cryogenic fuel system for the ZEROe.