Prepare for Lift-Off: Jet Zero Council to Deliver Carbon-Free Flight

September 30, 2020

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(U.K. Department for Transport, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and Robert Courts MP) Jet Zero Council sets out ambitions on sustainable aviation fuel, zero-emission aviation and aerospace technologies; partnership between government and industry to drive forward the government’s net zero-emission ambitions for the aviation and aerospace sector; group brings together representatives across aviation, aerospace, academia and wider

The pioneering partnership between government and the aviation sector to fast-track zero-emission flight has taken its next step forward today (Friday 25 September 2020) with the publication of the group’s members and key aims.

Following the first meeting of the group earlier in the summer, representatives from the UK’s leading aerospace, aviation and technology sectors will work in lockstep with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Aviation Minister Robert Courts and Business Secretary Alok Sharma to drive forward the government’s ambitions for clean aviation.

Industry leaders from Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Shell, along with representatives from some of Britain’s top aviation, tech, non-governmental organisation (NGO) and investor groups, including John Holland-Kaye (Heathrow) and Alex Cruz (IAG), will aim to turbocharge government plans through a laser focus on UK production facilities for sustainable aviation fuels and the acceleration of the design, manufacture and commercial operation of zero-emission aircraft in the UK, helping speed the sector towards a low-carbon future.

Aviation Minister Robert Courts said:

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by modern society, and we know we need to go further and faster if we’re to make businesses sustainable long into the future.

That’s why we’re bringing together government, business and investors to reduce emissions in the aviation sector – through innovative technologies, such as sustainable fuels, hybrid and eventually electric planes, we will build a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future for all.

The council, which will establish sub-committees to accelerate progress, will focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions and delivering clean growth. It will operate in the context of the UK’s wider target for net zero emissions by 2050 – one of the most ambitious targets in the world.

The partnership will leverage the UK’s world-leading aviation sector, which employs 230,000 people in the UK and contributes £33 billion to the UK economy, to effectively tackle emissions while encouraging growth and green innovation. Through this partnership, the UK will go further than ever before in developing the first zero-emission transatlantic passenger aircraft.

The publication of the group’s aims today coincides with the Aviation Minister’s visit to Cranfield to witness the world’s first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight.

ZeroAvia, a leading innovator in decarbonising commercial aviation, supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, completed the flight at the company’s research and development (R&D) facility in Cranfield, England, with the Piper M-class 6-seat plane completing taxi, take-off, a full pattern circuit and landing.

Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi said:

The UK is unrelenting in its commitment to ensuring a cleaner world for future generations by achieving net zero emissions by 2050 – and making air travel greener will be a huge part of this.

This ambitious council will see the government working in tandem with key players from across aviation, aerospace and wider to develop innovations that will catapult aviation to a low-carbon future.

The full list of attendees can be found online, along with the terms of reference.

Chairs

Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Transport Secretary
Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Business Secretary

Members

Robert Courts MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
Rachel Maclean MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
Nadhim Zahawi MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Paul Stein, Chief Technology Officer, Rolls-Royce
Julie Kitcher, Executive Vice President, Airbus
Tony Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Meggitt and ADS President
Russ Dunn, Chief Technology Officer, GKN
Val Miftakhov, Chief Executive Officer, ZeroAvia
Peter Mather, Senior Vice President, Europe and Head of Country, UK, bp plc
Anna Mascolo, Chief Executive Officer, Shell Global Aviation
Neville Hargreaves, Vice President, Waste to Fuels, Velocys
Nina Skorupska CBE REA, The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology
Dr Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive Officer, Lanzatech
Alex Cruz, Chief Executive Officer, British Airways
Shai Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Atlantic
Johan Lundgren, Chief Executive Officer, easyjet
Jonathan Hinkles, Chief Executive Officer, LoganAir
Dawn Wilson, Managing Director, TUI Airways
John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow
Charlie Cornish, Chief Executive Officer, MAG
Dom Hallas, Executive Director, Coadec
Jacqueline de Rojas, President, Tech UK
Simon Crabtree, Investment Manager, Mercia Asset Management
Tim Johnson, Director, AEF
Gary Elliot, Aerospace Technology Institute
Dr Alicia Greated, Chief Executive Officer, Knowledge Transfer Network
Professor Iain Gray, Director of Aerospace, Cranfield University
Professor Peter Littlewood, Executive Chairman, Faraday Institution
Kyle Martin, Vice President, European Affairs, GAMA
Trevor Woods, independent consultant