– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Flying in a climate-neutral way:

How long do we have to wait?

The next few decades are the important ones,

because we want to reach our climate goals by 2050.

More and more passengers are conscious

about their CO² footprint.

We will need renewable hydrogen fuel.

There's no clear timeline today for when it will happen.

Flying is considered the most climate-damaging form of travel.

It accounts for 3.5% of global CO² emissions.

And this doesn't include the environmental impact

of contrails, nitrogen oxides and soot.

The CO² emissions only make up

about one third of the climate impact of aviation.

The other two thirds can actually be attributed to non CO² effects.

These are processes in the atmosphere and chemical reactions.

In 2023 there were 38 million flights worldwide —

and air traffic keeps growing.

Does that mean the situation is hopeless?

I guess it won't be easy to find an answer.

I'm travelling through Germany to speak with scientists,

industry experts and critics.

The projections basically continue what we've seen in the last decades,

that the aviation sector is very much connected to economic growth.

And thus, the aviation sector has seen continued growth

in the last three decades

and is projected to do so.

So we not only need to decarbonize

the current fuel demand and aviation sector,

but also anything that comes on top in the next decades

due to the growth.

So 50% of citizens worldwide have never been on a plane.

So how could you dare to tell them

not to fly and see the world as we did?

And the future of aviation is absolutely, closely, 100%

linked to sustainability.

Hydrogen is the great promise for environmentally friendly flying,

since it emits only water vapor.

In the summer of 2023, the first manned flight of an aircraft

powered by liquid hydrogen took place.

The plane was launched by German developer H2FLY

in Maribor, Slovenia.

There was a total of four test flights, one of which lasted

over three hours.

The future of flying is being developed right here in the heart

of Stuttgart, where H2FLY is located.

H2FLY was founded in 2015.

The company develops propulsion systems of the future for aircraft.

We have the hydrogen as a fuel in the hydrogen storage system,

and then we use that hydrogen directly in a fuel cell

to convert the energy of the

hydrogen into electric energy.

That electric energy is used in an electric motor with a propeller

or a fan to have the propulsion done.

There have already been several prototypes of hydrogen

powered manned aircraft.

Take, for example, the so-called eVTOL aircraft

from the US company Joby Aviation,

now the parent company of H2FLY.

Their goals are ambitious.

We have applications which go into a 40 seater,

where we push into the commercial aviation

to understand first what the requirements are,

then to build the qualification base,

to show the functionality,

to demonstrate functionality in flight.

And then to build a product.

We think it will be possible to fly

in a 40-seater before the end of the decade.

Emission-free propulsion could be ready in a few years

for smaller passenger aircraft.

Well, but what about the big planes?

Major aircraft manufacturers like Airbus have various concepts for what

the large aircraft of the future could look like.

But they all have one thing in common:

hydrogen-electric propulsion.

The original goal of developing larger hydrogen powered passenger

aircraft ready to hit the market by 2035 has been walked back

for the time being – at least at Airbus.

The long haul traffic, that’s the traffic beyond 4,000 kilometers,

it’s only 5%, 6 % of the flights worldwide,

But it’s more than 50% of the total emissions.

And battery electric or hydrogen aircraft will not be able,

for the next two to three decades,

to transport 300 passengers

in a reasonable way up to 6-8,000 kilometers.

That’s not going to happen.

Technically, I'm pretty much convinced it will happen.

It will be possible.

But the question is whether there is a

commercial viable model behind it.

The one thing is to develop the technology as we do and push forward.

But on the other side, at the end of the decade, we will need

a tremendous amount of green hydrogen

to propel those systems.

Now it’s a little bit of a chicken and egg problem we have to solve.

Because without the fuel,

we will not have the technology on the market.

I think for large scale deployment of hydrogen

it will take another few decades.

There are many challenges.

Hydrogen requires a lot of energy to be produced and there

are logistical issues.

The challenge for hydrogen is that it requires a completely new

infrastructure and supply chain behind it.

Because everything is based on the supply of fossil kerosene.

So airplanes would need to be built in a different way,

and the infrastructure at the airports need to change

to accommodate for this new fuel.

Research into this infrastructure is being conducted in Hamburg.

The hydrogen aviation lab is located next to the Hamburg airport.

It's operated by Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline.

Many airlines have a strong interest in modernizing their fleets,

if only for cost reasons.

Here in Hamburg, this retired A320 is used to research

hydrogen powered aviation.

The heart of the lab is located inside the fuselage.

We are not allowed to film details.

It's still top secret.

I do see a potential.

First of all, I really admire all these innovations

and the engineers working in this field.

So I really think there will be big progress over the years to come.

But it's limited to short haul traffic and it's limited to only

a couple of passengers on board of the plane.

Because hydrogen is volume intense.

You need more space for hydrogen to be transported.

And more space for the fuel, so to speak,

means less space for passengers.

So you have smaller planes — nine, ten, fifteen passengers on board.

And this is not economically feasible.

Because at the end of the day,

the passengers have to pay the high prices for such a small plane.

Everybody needs to learn hydrogen.

We have known hydrogen

for a long time at Hamburg Airport.

But authorities need to learn;

the whole infrastructure needs to learn,

aviation needs to learn

and most importantly the passengers

need to have confidence in hydrogen.

Because it’s nonsense to have a new fuel

and nobody wants to fly with it.

Climate-friendly and affordable flying with hydrogen?

That will take some time.

Is there a sustainable path for air travel that can be taken now —

or at least faster?

What about aircraft CO² emissions?

Can we expect rapid improvements?

The green transition is going to work.

First of all, all manufactures are working on

less fuel efficient and by that less CO² emitting aircraft.

And airlines are working on fleet modernization

because less fuel burn is in their major interest.

So at the same moment,

they have less CO² emissions up in the air.

Right now, the most environmentally friendly

aircraft in operation is the Airbus A 350.

Thanks to modern engines

and lighter construction,

it consumes only 2.5 liters of kerosene

per passenger per 100 kilometers.

This means it emits 25% less CO² than its predecessors.

Lower consumption is one aspect.

And then there is the so-called SAF, sustainable aviation fuel.

SAF is an unconventional fuel, sometimes produced from organic waste

or renewable raw materials.

Inherent is a chance, an opportunity,

that the greenhouse gas emissions of the sustainable aviation fuel

are 80% less than conventional fuel.

And also the non CO² emissions,

which can be seen as contrails up in the sky.

Sustainable aviation fuel propelled aircraft produce less contrails.

So there is a massive, massive chance

that sustainable aviation fuel makes a huge impact.

It's a drop-in fuel.

You can use it.

You don't have to set up hydrogen infrastructure at airports,

which doesn't exist.

What do you think of SAF – Sustainable Aviation Fuel?

Is it a solution or an illusion?

Sustainable aviation fuels can be green if we ensure

that all the inputs needed for the production of them are sustainable.

For example, using renewable electricity.

Or using sustainable CO² sources by, for example,

capturing it from air or using biogenic sources.

Hope for the future.

Currently, Airbus aircraft can be fueled with upto 50% SAF.

This share is to be increased to 100% by 2030.

But there is a major catch: the large amount of energy required

to produce synthetic fuel.

This is a huge electricity demand.

For example, to cover the fuel demand of the aviation sector in Germany,

which is, I think, about 385,000 terajoule in 2020

to cover this completely with these synthetic fuels

it would require over 35,000 onshore wind turbines,

which is a lot.

And I think that relates to about 21 nuclear power plants.

It’s a fact: Zero-emission aviation is far off.

Sustainability takes many small steps.

One of them is the Net Zero 2035 project.

The issue of CO² reduction doesn't just affect aircraft.

Flying also involves airports.

Hamburg Airport is aware of the problem.

With the Net Zero 2035 project,

the Airport has a clear goal.

The Net Zero project – what is it actually?

What's the idea behind all that?

The basic idea is to bring our airport operations to net zero

or fossil-free operations.

This means that everything that emits CO², fossil CO²,

is going to be reduced to zero.

So that we have basically net zero CO² emissions.

The passenger stairways are solar-powered.

All vehicles are being converted to electric and hydrogen power.

While climate management systems in all buildings are being modernized.

They’re also building a wind farm to supply all of the airport's energy.

Our base here is 2009.

Since then we have reduced

something like 80 to 85% of our CO² emissions already.

Does it pay off for the airport?

Does it pay off for the climate not to do it?

Flying in the future will likely be greener, but probably more expensive.

So what's your take?

Will you fly like nothing's changed, cut back or quit flying for good?

Feel free to leave a comment.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
climate /ˈklaɪ.mət/ B2	noun - the weather of a place averaged over a long period; the state of the atmosphere
aviation /ˌeɪ.viˈeɪ.ʃən/ C1	noun - the activity of flying aircraft
emissions /iˈmɪʃ.ənz/ B2	noun - the act of sending out gas, heat, light, etc.; substances sent out into the air
hydrogen /ˈhaɪ.drə.dʒən/ B2	noun - a chemical element that is a gas with the atomic number 1, often used as fuel
fuel /ˈfjuː.əl/ A2	noun - a substance that is burned or used to provide heat or power
sustainable /səˈsteɪ.nə.bəl/ B2	adjective - able to continue for a long time without causing damage
decarbonize /ˌdiːˈkɑː.bə.naɪz/ C1	verb - to remove or reduce carbon dioxide emissions from something
contrails /ˈkɒn.treɪlz/ C2	noun - condensation trails left by aircraft in the sky
propulsion /prəˈpʌl.ʃən/ C1	noun - the force that drives something forward, especially a vehicle
infrastructure /ˈɪn.frə.strʌk.tʃər/ B2	noun - the basic systems and structures of a country or organization
manufacture /ˌmæn.jʊˈfæk.tʃər/ B2	noun - the process of making goods in large quantities verb - to make goods in large quantities, usually in a factory
electric /ɪˈlek.trɪk/ B1	adjective - powered by electricity
renewable /rɪˈnjuː.ə.bəl/ B2	adjective - that can be used without being completely used up, or replaced naturally
consumption /kənˈsʌmp.ʃən/ B2	noun - the act of using energy, food, or materials
transition /trænˈzɪʃ.ən/ B2	noun - the process of changing from one state or situation to another
affordable /əˈfɔːd.ə.bəl/ B1	adjective - cheap enough to buy or spend time and money on
viable /ˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ C1	adjective - capable of working successfully; practical
logistics /ləˈdʒɪs.tɪks/ C1	noun - the practical organization of transport, supplies, etc.
deployment /dɪˈplɔɪ.mənt/ C1	noun - the use or placement of something for a particular purpose