World-first RAF flight powered by synthetic fuel
The RAF and Zero Petroleum have announced the successful completion of the world’s first flight to be entirely powered by synthetic fuel.
An Ikarus C42 microlight aircraft flown by Group Captain Peter Hackett completed the short flight at Cotswold Airport earlier this month, powered by Zero Petroleum’s synthetic fuel. The RAF and Zero Petroleum have won a Guinness World Record for the achievement.
Zero Petroleum’s synthetic UL91 fuel is manufactured by extracting hydrogen from water and carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide. According to the London-based company, the process then uses Direct FT (a proprietary and highly advanced version of Fischer-Tropsch) to directly manufacture target fuels (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) at high yield and with no need for refinery upgrading.
The innovation, part of the RAF’s Project MARTIN, is believed to have the potential to save 80-90 per cent of carbon per flight.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin, said: “Whilst green technologies like electric and hydrogen are viable for many RAF platforms, high-performance aircraft require a liquid fuel alternative, like the UL91, to maintain operational capabilities.”
Register now to continue reading
Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.
Benefits of registering
-
In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends
-
Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year
-
Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox
Experts speculate over cause of Iberian power outages
The EU and UK will be moving towards using Grid Forming inverters with Energy Storage that has an inherent ability to act as a source of Infinite...