"The days of burning coal, oil and natural gas are over."
Hydrofuel
Just recently, the German government cut the ribbon at a new facility that produces jet fuel with only water, carbon dioxide and electricity.
According to The Associated Press, the new facility is part a governmental effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make aviation more clean. By mixing hydrogen from water with atmospheric carbon dioxide, the synthetic kerosene can be made using electricity generated by nearby wind farms. It can eventually function as a carbon neutral fuel because it emits only the same greenhouse gases as those that were originally removed from the environment to be used as reagents.
Cleaner air
The German government celebrates the new facility as an important step towards eliminating global greenhouse gases of 2.5 percent caused by air travel.
According to the AP, the era of burning oil, coal, and natural gas is ending. However, it is unacceptable that anyone should be forced to give up their dream of flying. We need alternatives to the climate-harming, conventional kerosene.
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However, this era may last for a while longer. According to the AP only eight barrels per day can be produced by the facility. This is enough fuel to fill a small passenger aircraft every three weeks. In comparison, commercial airlines used 95 billion gallons fuel in 2019.
It is still promising to see significant investments in cleaner aviation technology. It could be a significant contribution to the fight against climate change if it can scale up to a practical level.
READ MORE: A new plant in Germany aims at reducing flying's carbon footprint [Associated Press]
Here's more on jet fuel: A scientist claims he has built a jet engine that converts electricity directly into thrust
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