Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made
towards achieving their aspiration to have battery and
hydrogen-powered aircraft connecting different parts of the
United Kingdom.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport () (Con)
My Lords, zero-emission flight is one measure in the Government’s
jet zero strategy to deliver net-zero UK aviation by 2050. The
development of hydrogen and battery electric aircraft is
technically challenging, and the Government are supporting the
necessary innovation in the UK to overcome these barriers.
Between 2013 and 2030, industry and government will invest over
£5 billion to develop transformational aircraft technology and
will continue to collaborate closely to drive progress through
the Jet Zero Council.
(LD)
I thank the Minister for that reply. Are the Government giving
any consideration to using public service obligation flights as a
test bed for these new technologies, given that they are
essential services that are also short and domestic?
(Con)
The DfT has published a jet zero strategy setting out the
Government’s approach to delivering net-zero UK aviation by 2050.
The strategy anticipates that a range of measures, including
sustainable aviation fuels, zero-emission flights, carbon market
measures and greater efficiencies in aircraft, airports and
airspace will be require in tandem to achieve net zero by
2050.
(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister believe that the principle of the
polluter pays should apply to aviation, as it does across much of
government policy, so that the cost of the emissions trading
scheme, as well as the guaranteed prices for producers of
sustainable fuels and the cost of an SAF mandate, should be paid
by the airlines and, in turn, by the consumers who take the
flights? This will not make flights exorbitantly expensive; it
will ensure that the people who benefit from such transport bear
the costs of it.
(Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. In fairness to the
airlines, a number of industry projects within the UK seek to
bring hydrogen-propelled aircraft, for example, into commercial
service. Airbus has its ZEROe project, through which it intends
to bring into commercial service the world’s first zero-emission
commercial aircraft by 2035. Launched in 2022, its ZEROe
demonstrator project will explore how hydrogen propulsion
technology can be configured, and there are many other projects
within the industry.
(Con)
My Lords, although hydrogen can be a green fuel, it is important
that we focus more on green hydrogen, which is created by
electrolysis using renewable energy, rather than blue or grey
hydrogen. Can my noble friend tell us about the emphasis on green
hydrogen as opposed to other hydrogens in order to meet the
net-zero targets?
(Con)
The UK Hydrogen Capability Network Phase 0 Project is a 12-month
study funded by the Department for Business and Trade and led by
the Aerospace Technology Institute, which builds on the ATI’s
FlyZero study key recommendations. It will define the operating
model for a group of open-access facilities designed to
accelerate the development of liquid hydrogen propulsion aircraft
technologies, capabilities and skills in the UK.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, would not this development have lots of incidental
advantages? For example, it would make it easier for Peers from
all parts of the United Kingdom to get down to Westminster, thus
ending the outrage that over half the Members of a House that
purports to represent the whole of the United Kingdom are from
the south-east of England.
(Con)
I am grateful for the noble Lord’s wisdom, and, as someone who
travels from Wales, I appreciate his comments.
(LD)
My Lords, the Government’s Jet Zero strategy set a target for
domestic flights to reach net zero by 2040, but instead there has
been a big increase in internal flights taken by private planes
and helicopters, and many of those journeys could have been made
more quickly by train. Can the Minister tell us what the
Government are doing to discourage the use of private internal
flights? Perhaps he can also have a word with his right
honourable friend the Prime Minister to suggest that he might
favour other forms of transport rather than private jets and
helicopters.
(Con)
There are security issues for the Prime Minister, which I am sure
the noble Baroness will appreciate. It is still a free world and
people can choose how they want to travel, and we must remember
that although we are anti-emissions, we are not anti-flying. We
must reduce emissions from aviation while retaining our ability
to fly.
(Lab)
My Lords, may I suggest to the Minister that we build a
high-speed rail connection to Manchester and then on to
Sheffield, which might reduce the number of flights that are
needed?
(Con)
A very popular suggestion from the noble Lord, and his point is
made.
(Con)
My Lords, to help the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, in the attainment
of his admirable objectives, can my noble friend the Minister
confirm to what extent his department is liaising with the
Ministry of Defence, which, through the RAF and Project Monet, is
making excellent progress in the pursuit of sustainable
fuels?
(Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right. Civil aviation and the Royal
Air Force are making combined efforts to reduce emissions with
technology.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Hydrogen in Aviation alliance has indicated that
Britain is well placed to become a global hydrogen aviation
leader, stimulating the economy and providing 100,000 jobs. The
alliance announced that this would require a 10-year funding
commitment. History shows that the level of continuity required
to achieve an entirely new fuel requires state funding as part of
any alliance. How much real government money is being put into
this project?
(Con)
The Department for Business and Trade supports research and
development in UK aerospace manufacturing through the Aerospace
Technology Institute. It is a competitive process through which
industry can access match funding from government to develop
technologies. The programme is set to run until at least 2030,
and as part of the advanced manufacturing plan announcement on 17
November, His Majesty’s Treasury confirmed that £975 million of
government funding will be provided as part of a £4.5 billion
total package for manufacturing between 2025 and 2030. That is in
addition to the £685 million from the Government between 2022 and
2025.
(LD)
My Lords, my noble friend made a very good point that I do not
think was fully covered by the Minister, regarding the ideal
nature of battery-powered planes for internal domestic flights.
For that to happen, we need not just the planes but the
infrastructure in the airport. What plans are there in the jet
zero strategy to ensure that all domestic airports have the
infrastructure, such as power and charging facilities, to make
this happen?
(Con)
First, the use of battery electric has been proven in small,
manned aircraft. However, the weight, plus lack of power density
of batteries currently on the market, limits the range and
payload of electric aircraft. To support adoption of new aircraft
such as hydrogen and battery-powered, the Government have
supported research into airport preparedness for handling
aircraft through £4.2 million of funding for the zero-emission
flight infrastructure project. The findings will be published in
March.
(Con)
My Lords, the House might be getting used to my personal interest
in electric mobility, and I want to build on the point made by
the noble Lord, , about landing pads. I am aware
of two major international organisations that are progressing and
quite advanced in their development of electric aeroplanes to be
used for personal mobility—as in air taxis—to help people travel
easily and in a sustainable way. It is not airports they are
looking for, it is landing pads, which will be less invasive in
our environment. Is that something we are looking into? I know
that across Europe, sites are being searched for landing areas to
be trialled in the testing of these planes.
(Con)
My noble friend makes a very interesting point. I do not have the
information in front of me, but I will certainly look at that and
write to him.
