Airbus and several major airlines have signed Letters of Intent (LoI) to explore opportunities for a future supply of carbon removal credits from direct air carbon capture technology.
The carriers are Air Canada, Air France-KLM, easyJet, International Airlines Group, Latam Airlines Group, Lufthansa Group and Virgin Atlantic.
Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) is a technology that involves filtering and removing CO2 emissions directly from the air using high-powered fans.
Once removed from the air, the CO2 is safely and permanently stored in geologic reservoirs.
A direct air carbon capture and storage solution would allow the aviation sector to extract the equivalent amount of emissions from its operations directly from atmospheric air.
The airlines will negotiate the possible pre-purchase of verified and durable carbon removal credits starting in 2025.
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Julie Kitcher, executive vice president for communications and corporate affairs at Airbus, said: “These first letters of intent mark a concrete step towards the use of this promising technology for both Airbus’ own decarbonisation plan and the aviation sector’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Jane Ashton, easyJet’s director of sustainability, added: “Direct air capture is a nascent technology with a huge potential, so we are very pleased to be part of this important initiative.
“We believe that carbon removal solutions will be an essential element of our pathway to net zero, complementing other components and helping us to neutralise any residual emissions in the future.
“Ultimately, our ambition is to achieve zero carbon emission flying, and we are working with partners across the industry, including Airbus, on several dedicated projects to accelerate the development of future zero carbon emission aircraft technology.”
• Meanwhile, the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), an alliance of climate leaders focused on decarbonising some of the world’s highest-emitting industries, has launched an aviation transition strategy to “provide a clear path to reach net-zero by 2050”.
MPP said the strategy is endorsed by major global aviation leaders including Airbus, American Airlines, and Air France-KLM, bp, easyjet, and Shell.