Aviation can be green without using batteries or hydrogen fuel, says Alan Joyce

Hydrogen and battery technology are not yet viable alternatives to aviation fuel, outgoing Qantas boss Alan Joyce says, tempering hype on the new greener energy sources.

Hydrogen and battery technology are not yet viable alternatives to aviation fuel, outgoing Qantas boss Alan Joyce says, tempering hype on the new greener energy sources.

Mr Joyce says batteries are too heavy – even to power a flight from Sydney to Melbourne – while hydrogen takes up too much space on aircraft.

It comes after a BHP executive said hydrogen would have a niche role in the global energy mix, rather than being a staple fuel.

A race has begun to develop lower carbon-emissions aircraft, with Airbus aiming to develop the world’s first commercial hydrogen-powered plane by 2035.

Meanwhile, Europe is embracing small electric-powered aircraft for short routes within the continent.

But for Australia, Mr Joyce said the “technology solutions unfortunately are not there”.

“You’ve heard people talk about battery aircraft, but to give you an indication, to fly Melbourne-Sydney, the batteries would have to be on an aircraft at currently 34 times the weight of the jet fuel on board,” Mr Joyce said while giving the closing address at the International Congress of Actuaries in Sydney along with his brother Anthony.

“So there’s not enough power to weight ratio to allow you to fly that.

“Some day, not too far away, you may be able to fly from Sydney to Wagga on a battery-powered or hybrid aircraft, but in the long sectors that we do, you can’t.”

While Airbus considers hydrogen an “important decarbonisation pathway”, Mr Joyce said the technology was a “long way away” from use in aviation.

“The problem with hydrogen … it takes up a lot of space. So on an A330 flight to Asia, one-third of the aircraft would be hydrogen and two thirds would be passengers, and there’s huge issues (with) trying to get the fuel on the aircraft – even if you had a hydrogen-powered aircraft today and that technology was available.”

Anthony Joyce, a corporate actuary at Medibank, highlighted the Hindenburg disaster 86 years ago – a fire was sparked from a hydrogen leak in the airship, killing 36 people.

Germany's airship Hindenburg explodes in a ball of fire as it lands in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937, killing at least 36 of passengers and crew.

Lee Levkowitz, head of BHP’s energy, carbon and technology research, said there were two distinct visions for hydrogen, but the world’s biggest mining company presently saw it playing a small but lucrative role in the global economy.

“It could be champagne or it could be tap water,” Ms Levkowitz said. “There are certainly opportunities in the global energy transition where it will be needed, but there are a variety of decarbonisation technologies where it is not necessarily the foremost ­technology.”

Despite the technology not yet being suitable for aviation, Mr Joyce believes airlines could become greener via the rapid uptake of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon offsetting.

Late last month Qantas signed a memorandum of understanding with the Queensland government to deliver the country’s first bio-refinery capable of producing 100 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year. SAF can be produced from certified bio feedstock, including used cooking oil, forestry residue, sugar cane trash, animal tallow and other waste products.

Qantas has committed to use 10 per cent of SAF in its fuel mix by 2030 and 60 per cent by 2050, and is currently using 10 million litres of SAF on flights out of London. It plans to use the greener fuel on flights out of the US in 2025.

“We have an obligation to protect aviation for the next generation, and it not becoming a choice for people to say ‘am I going to protect the environment or will I make the trip to Australia?’ It shouldn’t be a choice.

“With sustainable aviation fuel and with offsetting, you will be able to do both,” Mr Joyce said.

Qantas is using 10 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel for flights from London to reduce carbon emissions.

Katja Busch, chief commercial officer at German-owned logistics giant DHL, said the company had ordered 12 fully electric cargo planes, nicknamed ‘Alice’, for use within Europe. The batteries on the plane last five to six hours, so are only being viable on short-haul routes.

Like Qantas, DHL is relying on SAF to lower emissions in Australia. It used more than 830 million of the alternative fuel across its global operations last year.

“As we face the challenges of the climate emergency, it is clear that sustainability must be at the forefront of our efforts,” Ms Busch said.

“By prioritising cleaner, greener logistics and working together, I truly believe that we can drive meaningful progress towards achieving sustainable supply chains.

“We owe it to future generations to take bold action and make commitments to protect our planet now.”