class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>
More sustainable air travel is the declared goal of Switzerland: the airline wants to halve its net CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and achieve a CO₂-neutral balance by 2050. One thing is clear: none of this can be achieved without new technologies and innovation. That’s why Swiss is committed to the development of new technologies and runs numerous initiatives (see also “Some measures at a glance” box). Examples include the modernization of the fleet with more efficient aircraft, technical innovations such as AeroSHARK, and various measures to optimize flight procedures – for example, directly in flight by pilots.
One of the most important parameters of being more sustainable on the roads in the future is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). After all, rapid decarbonisation of air traffic is unthinkable without SAF.
This is why Switzerland relies on sustainable fuel.
Sustainable aviation fuel refers to aviation fuels that are not derived from petroleum. Available today, SAF is produced from industrial wastes and waste oils. Simply put, old french fries oil can be turned into fuel. When this fuel is burned from biological residues, only as much CO₂ is released as was previously drawn from the atmosphere by plants. Including production and transportation, at least 80 percent of CO₂ emissions are saved compared to fossil fuels. Several promising initiatives are already working on synthetic SAF produced from CO₂ from air and renewable energy. In the future, this SAF will enable nearly CO₂-neutral flight operations.
SAF can be mixed directly with conventional kerosene and is supplied to airlines as certified Jet A-1 kerosene ready. The good thing: SAF can be transported with existing infrastructure and used on today’s aircraft. At airports, SAF can be easily mixed with fossil kerosene into the tank farm. The aviation industry is therefore ready for rapid change. A maximum of 50 percent SAF mixture is currently applied. It will also be possible to use higher SAF shares in the future. But in the meantime, SAF production still needs to be greatly increased – very little of the sustainable fuel is still available. It is also four to six times more expensive than fossil kerosene.
Increase demand and research
But what can be done to make more SAFs available soon? For increased demand for sustainable fuel? And so that a future flight can be performed entirely with SAF? Swiss decided to address these questions in a targeted manner and to actively support the increase in production and technology development for advanced SAF.
Switzerland’s largest airline is campaigning with the Lufthansa Group and with the support of its customers to drive demand (see section “Travel more sustainably today”). In addition, expansion of production capacities and various manufacturing processes are encouraged. For example, Swiss and the Lufthansa Group are involved in various research and pilot projects and are committed to establishing SAF alliances for the development and scaling of sustainable aviation fuels.
Sustainable fuel with solar energy
Switzerland attaches great importance to the promotion of solar fuels. For this reason, the airline, together with the Lufthansa Group, entered into a strategic cooperation with the Swiss start-up company Synhelion. The spin-off from the well-known ETH Zurich has developed a world-unique process that produces synthetic, CO₂-neutral fuel from solar thermal energy. A clever principle: Sunlight is concentrated using mirror systems that convert CO₂ and water into syngas, from which ultimately liquid fuel can be produced.
The CO₂ required for this can be obtained from biological residues, industrial exhaust gases or directly from the air. Synhelion is currently building the first industrial-scale plant. Innovative solar fuel will be used for the first time in Switzerland.
Travel more sustainably today
With the so-called “Sustainable Options”, Swiss offers its private and commercial customers various options to use SAF on their flights, reducing the CO₂ emissions of their journeys while supporting the increase in SAF production. As far as business customers are concerned, many companies have already decided to rely on SAF for their travels through Switzerland. Because companies can significantly reduce their flight-related CO₂ offsets.
During the reservation process, private passengers can choose from various offers with a combination of investment in SAF and climate protection projects for a more sustainable flight. Since mid-February, a new green fare option has also been introduced for European flights. In terms of cost, these are in the midfield. For example, “Economy Green” is priced between “Economy Classic” and “Economy Flex”. These tickets include a 20 percent reduction in individual CO₂ emissions using SAF and offsetting the remaining 80 percent by investing in climate protection projects.
Sustainable travel is always valuable: the person who buys a Green Fare ticket receives 20 percent bonus and status miles and enjoys more flexible rebooking options.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
