NASA Administrator Bill Nelson joined federal government and industry
leaders Thursday at a White House event highlighting sustainable aviation and
the administration’s focus on medium- and long-term goals to combat climate
change.
The event highlighted a plan to reduce aviation carbon emissions through
production of more than three billion gallons of sustainable fuel by 2030.
Officials from the Departments of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture
announced a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge (SAFGC) to meet this
goal, in partnership with industry and other federal agencies. SAFGC aims to
reduce costs, enhance the sustainability of aviation, as well as expand the
production and use of sustainable aviation fuel to meet 100% of U.S. demand by
2050.
Nelson delivered remarks underscoring NASA’s origins as an aeronautics
research organization and history of improving aviation efficiency and safety.
NASA innovations have made aircraft quieter and more fuel efficient while
reducing their harmful emissions, he said, making aviation more sustainable
environmentally and economically.
“Our aeronautics researchers are developing and testing new green
technologies for next generation aircraft, new automation tools for greener and
safer airspace operations, and sustainable energy options for aircraft
propulsion,” Nelson said.
NASA is investing in cost-sharing partnerships with U.S. companies to
research and demonstrate high-risk, high-reward technology for next-generation,
single-aisle aircraft that are at least 25% more fuel efficient. These aircraft
could see service by the early 2030s. Single-aisle aircraft generate the
largest share of aviation carbon emissions of all aircraft class sizes.
“We’re working to keep U.S. companies economically competitive by helping
them bring to market the next generation of environmentally-sustainable
commercial transport aircraft,” said Bob Pearce, NASA’s associate administrator
for aeronautics. “The fiercely competitive single-aisle market is an important
path to economic recovery for aircraft manufacturers and airlines after COVID,
and foreign governments are investing heavily in these technologies.”
Under its recently launched Sustainable Flight
National Partnership, NASA will collaborate with the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry partners to accelerate the
maturation of aircraft and engine technologies to enable a significant
reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The partnership’s
efforts include demonstrating new technology, such as the first-ever
high-power, hybrid-electric propulsion systems for large transport aircraft,
long and slender ultra-high efficiency wings, and advanced composite materials.
NASA will also demonstrate advanced engine technologies based on its
breakthrough innovations.
In collaboration with the Department of Energy, NASA will develop battery
technologies that can provide the power required for electric aircraft with
vertical takeoff and landing capability, as well as for short-range consumer
aircraft. In the long term, these battery technologies could potentially
achieve the energy density needed for longer-range electric aircraft as well.
A memorandum of understanding signed at the White House event calls for the
development of a government-wide strategic plan to meet these goals. The SAFGC
Roadmap will take a multi-generational approach, setting U.S. milestones at
2030, 2040, and 2050.
NASA will contribute to the nation’s commitment to sustainable aviation
embodied in the SAFGC. Building on its ground and flight campaigns of the past
decade, NASA researchers will continue sampling and characterizing the makeup
of sustainable aviation fuel emissions to verify performance, and to ensure
compatibility of sustainable aviation fuels with existing and future aircraft.
For information on the administration’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels efforts,
see this new fact sheet: https://go.nasa.gov/3l8sGXg
For more information about NASA, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-innovations-will-help-us-meet-sustainable-aviation-goals
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