Summary
- Airbus and easyJet have partnered for a carbon removal initiative to satisfy aviation emissions targets, using direct air capture technology.
- Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) extracts CO2 emissions from the air and stores them underground or converts them into jet fuel.
- Airbus offers carbon removal credits to airlines to advance decarbonization goals, with easyJet being the primary airline to commit to the initiative entirely.
Airbus and easyJet have signed a contract to remove carbon from the atmosphere. That is seen as one in every of several ways to achieve aviations’ emissions targets. As aircraft cannot capture their emissions on the source, direct air capture provides a method to remove the emissions from the atmosphere and reuse or bury them.
Making good on green
The European low-cost carrier was the primary airline worldwide to totally commit to partnering with Airbus for its carbon-removal initiative. The carbon capture program offers airlines a probability to advance their decarbonization goals through carbon removal credits.
The Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) program uses high-powered extraction fans to filter and take away CO2 emissions directly from the air. The isolated CO2 is then compacted and permanently stored in underground reservoirs or potentially converted into jet fuel. Julie Kitcher, Executive Vice President of Communications, Sustainability & Corporate Affairs at Airbus, expressed the manufacturer’s excitement to work with easyJet:
“easyJet is a robust advocate of decarbonisation, for its operations and the broader aviation sector. This agreement demonstrates the airline’s willingness to increase its environmental commitment through Airbus’ Carbon Capture Offer.
“Initiatives similar to this one underline Airbus’ commitment to decarbonisation solutions for our industry and to, bringing together airlines and industry players from all sectors with the intention to construct a sustainable aviation ecosystem.”
The technology is viewed as one in every of several ways to cut back overall emissions. The 2 firms emphasize that sequestration is complementary to other carbon reduction technologies, similar to the usage of sustainable aviation fuel.
Making a credit market
Given its contributory role, Airbus positioned itself well as a source of carbon offsetting. The manufacturer announced last summer on the Farnborough Airshow that it had partnered with several airlines in a big carbon capture initiative, the following step of which was revealed today with easyJet upgrading to a firm agreement. Several other industry giants, including Air Canada, Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group, LATAM Airlines Group, Lufthansa Group, and Virgin Atlantic, signed Letters of Intent to explore opportunities for carbon removal credits through this system.
The credits will likely be issued by an Airbus partner on the direct capture process, 1PointFive. The corporate is a subsidiary of Occidental’s Low Carbon Ventures business and the worldwide deployment partner of direct air capture company Carbon Engineering, which operates the capture facilities. Thomas Haagensen, Group Markets Director at easyJet, noted how direct capture was just one in every of the airline’s methods of decarbonization:
“Decarbonising a tough to abate sector, similar to aviation, is a large challenge and we imagine carbon removal will play a vital role in addressing our residual emissions in the long run, complementing other components to assist us achieve our pathway to net zero.
Our ultimate aim is to realize zero carbon emission flying and, in addition to investing into vital projects like direct air carbon capture technology, we’re working with multiple partners – including Airbus – to speed up the event of zero carbon emission aircraft technology.”
Photo: Tea and Biscuit Photos | Shutterstock.
Airbus pre-purchased 400,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits to be delivered over 4 years. It was not announced what number of credits easyJet purchased, but it is going to last from 2026 to 2029.