“How can we convey goods from A to B quickly, cheaply and at minimal cost to the environment?”
This trio of questions is front-of-mind when reviewing transportation and logistics strategies.
Or is it? That last point – environmental impact – is often lower in priority. In this iron triangle of considerations, in which it’s rarely possible with the current technology to optimise more than two of the three–speed, money and carbon emissions – guess which consideration is usually the compromise?
Of course I’m not suggesting that airfreight is a bad thing; it isn’t. Nor is it alone; we make similar decisions on an everyday basis in our personal lives for instance. So it’s no surprise that in many scenarios customers have very good reasons to prioritise these first two factors over the third. And the airfreight industry is well placed to cater for these requirements – so it makes sense that you do.
But we all know and can’t escape the stark facts: exact estimates vary, but experts agree that, on average, cargo ships, one of the chief rivals to aviation, emit roughly 10 to 40 grams of CO2 per metric ton for every kilometre travelled, whereas the equivalent figure for air freight is about 500.
But that’s with the current technology, technology that’s reliant on fossil fuel and internal combustion engines.
What if there were another way, one that could alleviate that lingering sense of guilt that you and your customers might feel when reflecting on green issues?
For the experienced professional, you’ll have heard it all before: battery-powered planes will save us all. Of course they will, you might say with a sigh. But when, exactly, will the technology be ready?
Sooner than you think is how we’d address that query because what insiders generally haven’t reckoned on is the rise of 3D solid-state batteries.
Could these represent the future of air cargo,and aviation more generally?
Let’s look at the lie of the land – and the air.
The automotive industry has been leading the pack when it comes to the adoption of electrical power for some time. According to a report by The International Energy Agency, nearly one in five cars sold in 2023 were electric, and this figure is rising.
What’s stopping it from rising at a faster rate, though, is known as range anxiety – and there are at least 30,000 high-altitude reasons why this issue is even more important in aviation.
A big part of the answer for longer-range electric cars lies in innovations that are being made in lithium-ion batteries. 3D solid-state batteries are in design and, along with being able to fast charge, these advanced lithium-ion batteries will be able to extend range, essential to overcoming adoption challenges and accelerating the shift towards electrification.
The key to the science behind this technology is energy density, which is how much energy can be packed into each battery. To achieve higher density a sulfur-based material is used in the battery cell. The production process also involves switching the flammable liquid that’s common to old-style batteries with a solid medium that’s non-flammable; this will dramatically increase safety to boot
Not only is this the holy grail of battery technology, it’s a holy grail that’s within reach, ready to revolutionise electrification in years rather than decades.
Extending the range of electric cars could push up adoption rates, resulting in radically lowered carbon footprints which are the two most obvious benefits to customers and the planet alike. But the advantages don’t stop there: less reliance on an increasingly volatile energy market represents a huge incentive to make this work.
How might this work in aviation, and more specifically airfreight – a complex question as aircraft design is a complex challenge. It’s clear that existing lithium ion batteries are not of sufficient energy density for long-range large aircraft, although they can, perhaps, play a role in smaller aircraft and drones, an emerging opportunity in the distribution of cargo. So, do these more advanced technologies offer a solution to larger aircraft? The potential is there. As with cars, perhaps hybrid approaches will be required in the first instance, unloading the propulsion engine or improving efficiencies even further than available today, not only lowering emissions but also driving down fuel usage (and, of course, cost). Could long-range large aircraft go all electric – time will tell but, with the ever improving performance of lithium-ion batteries, I wouldn’t bet against it.
But this move to long-range aviation won’t happen on its own, and the journey comes with its own set of obstacles, such as establishing reliable supply chains for some of the more unusual ingredients in these new batteries, decommissioning or converting old aircraft, the knock-on effect on other technologies, industries and GDP, and incentivising airfreight operators to overcome any natural inertia and fear of unknown expenses they might feel in the early days of industry adoption.
But these are addressable. Of course, the remedy isn’t neatly packaged into one simple pill. But if industry (customers, suppliers and the whole infrastructure) works closely and holistically with friendly governments – ones that might offer subsidies or tax-breaks for the many enterprises that would feed into this initiative – we could pull this off.
Given that over 100 countries agreed at last year’s COP to a goal for significant emission reductions from the global aviation industry by 2030, there is a will.
With a fair wind over our tail fins, there might now be a way.
