British Air Force hails first-ever test flight using only synthetic fuel

LONDON – Britain’s Royal Air Force has taken a landmark step towards slashing carbon emissions from its aircraft, announcing Nov. 17 that the service had completed the world’s first flight using 100 percent synthetic fuel together with commercial partner Zero Petroleum.

Using the company’s UL91 fuel the flight of the Ikarus C42 microlight plane from Cotswold Airport on Nov. 2 lasted 21 minutes.

The successful voyage by senior RAF test pilot Group Captain Peter Hackett has been logged by Guinness World Records as a world first for an aircraft using only synthetic fuel.

The initiative, part of a wider effort to reduce carbon emissions known as Project Martin, is partly funded by the RAF. Work on the role of synthetic fuels in reducing RAF emissions is being led by the air service’s Rapid Capabilities Office.

In a statement the MoD said the technology “has the potential to save 80-90% of carbon per flight, supporting the RAF’s vision that synthetic fuels will have a major role in powering the fast jets of the future.”

The RAF has previously signaled its intention to start replacing petroleum-based fuels on aircraft later this decade.

The replacement of 90 piston-powered Grob Aircraft T1 Tutor elementary flying trainers could be one of the first aircraft to be carbon emission free.

Zero Petroleum is a small British company founded by the hugely successful Formula One racing engineer Paddy Lowe and Nilay Shah, head of chemical engineering at Imperial College London.

Lowe said the aviation fuel, known as ZERO SynAvGas, was “developed in five months and ran successfully in the aircraft as a whole-blend without any modification to the aircraft or the engine.

“The engine manufacturer Rotax’s measurements and the test pilot’s observations showed no difference in power or general performance compared to standard fossil fuel,” said the Zero Petroleum chief executive.

The fuel is manufactured by extracting hydrogen from water and carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using energy generated from renewable sources like wind or solar, these are combined to create the synthetic fuel.

Zero Petroleum and its technology partner IGTL designed and built a production plant in record time in Peterhead, Scotland.

The plant was then positioned at Billia Croo, in the Orkney Islands, for fuel manufacturing operations during September and October.

British Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin said the development illustrated the military’s determination to pursue “net zero” alongside meeting operational commitments.

“Whilst green technologies like electric and hydrogen power generation are viable for many RAF platforms, high-performance aircraft require a liquid fuel alternative, like the UL91, to maintain operational capabilities,” he said.

“This is the first innovation of many, with a range of research and development activities underway to consider the viability of synthetic fuels without compromising aircraft performance,” Quin added.

The RAF plans to have its first net zero emissions airbase by 2025, and has set a goal of a net zero force by 2040.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sir Mike Wigston is due to make a keynote speech in London Nov. 23 detailing the air service’s plans to achieve net zero emissions.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国皇家空军在减少飞机碳排放方面迈出了具有里程碑意义的一步。11月17日，皇家空军宣布与商业合作伙伴Zero Petroleum一起完成了世界上首次使用100%合成燃料的飞行。

11 月 2 日，使用该公司 UL91 燃料的 Ikarus C42 超轻型飞机从科茨沃尔德机场起飞，飞行时间为 21 分钟。

英国皇家空军高级试飞员彼得·哈克特上校成功完成的这次飞行已被吉尼斯世界纪录认证为世界上首次仅使用合成燃料的飞机飞行。

这项计划是名为“马丁计划”的更广泛减排举措的一部分，由英国皇家空军部分资助。合成燃料在减少英国皇家空军排放方面的作用研究工作由该空军的快速能力办公室牵头。

英国国防部在一份声明中表示，这项技术“有可能每次飞行节省 80-90% 的碳排放，这支持了英国皇家空军的愿景，即合成燃料将在为未来的高速喷气式飞机提供动力方面发挥重要作用。”

英国皇家空军此前已表示，计划在本十年末开始用新能源替代飞机上的石油基燃料。

替换 90 架活塞式动力 Grob Aircraft T1 Tutor 初级飞行教练机，可能是首批实现碳零排放的飞机之一。

Zero Petroleum 是一家英国小型公司，由一级方程式赛车工程师 Paddy Lowe 和伦敦帝国理工学院化学工程系主任 Nilay Shah 创立。

Lowe表示，这种名为ZERO SynAvGas的航空燃料“在五个月内研发成功，无需对飞机或发动机进行任何改装，即可作为全混合物在飞机上运行”。

“发动机制造商 Rotax 的测量结果和试飞员的观察结果表明，与标准化石燃料相比，动力或总体性能没有差异，”零石油公司首席执行官表示。

这种燃料的生产过程是：首先从水中提取氢气，从大气中的二氧化碳中提取碳。然后利用风能或太阳能等可再生能源产生的能量，将氢气和碳结合起来，制成合成燃料。

Zero Petroleum 及其技术合作伙伴 IGTL 在苏格兰彼得黑德以创纪录的速度设计并建造了一座生产工厂。

随后，该工厂被安置在奥克尼群岛的比利亚克鲁，于 9 月和 10 月进行燃料生产作业。

英国国防采购部长杰里米·奎因表示，这一进展表明军方决心在履行作战承诺的同时，追求“净零排放”。

“虽然像电力和氢能发电这样的绿色技术对英国皇家空军的许多平台来说都是可行的，但高性能飞机需要像UL91这样的液体燃料替代品来维持作战能力，”他说。

奎因补充说：“这是众多创新中的第一个，目前正在开展一系列研发活动，以考虑在不影响飞机性能的前提下使用合成燃料的可行性。”

英国皇家空军计划在 2025 年前建成第一个净零排放空军基地，并设定了到 2040 年实现净零排放的目标。

空军参谋长迈克·威格斯顿空军上将将于11月23日在伦敦发表主旨演讲，详细介绍空军实现净零排放的计划。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。