Timing is key | Green hydrogen could ‘supply 32% of aviation energy demand by 2050’

Hydrogen fuel could carve out a 32% share of the aviation market by 2050, but only if it enters the fray by 2035 — and it would require astonishing amounts of new renewable energy capacity, according to a new study by climate think-tank Energy Transition Commission (ETC). Enter the market as little as five years later, and hydrogen’s potential share of aviation sector energy demand drops to 13%, muscled aside by an even more rapid take-up of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) such as biofuels, or synthetic fuels made from electricity, also known as e-fuels, says the report, Making Net Zero Aviation Possible. In any scenario, SAFs will take the lion’s share of the aviation market, the ETC says, taking 65%-85% depending on how quickly other viable fuels become commercially available. SAFs are the popular decarbonisation choice for airlines because they are so-called “drop-in…

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