Green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince has announced plans to launch Ecojet, Britain’s first electric airline, which he hopes will come to fruition early next year.
To begin with, the planes will run on kerosene fuel before utilising engines that can convert green hydrogen into electricity.
The Ecotricity founder hopes the airline will commence with 19-seater planes that can take 300 mile journeys and will be served by staff who wear environmentally-friendly uniforms.
The businessman, who also chairs the EFL’s most environmentally-friendly football team Forest Green Rovers, told the Guardian: “We want to prove that one of the last frontiers [of decarbonisation] can be broken and it’s not insolvable”.
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“A lot of people seem to think that people who are eco-conscious want everyone to live a life of self-denial in a cave. Green living is not about giving things up – everything we like to have in this life can be done in a net zero life.”
Vince also said he wasn’t completely satisfied to be beginning the project in a manner that required fossil fuels but said that this was due to the airline needing to launch quickly to secure slots and “keep up momentum”.
The news coincides with the announcement that Gloucestershire-based airline company ZeroAvia has plans to run commercial flights with its hydrogen-electric engine at Cotswold Airport near Cirencester.
Last month the government’s climate advisors the CCC warned the government over the impact of airport expansion on the UK’s ability to reach net zero.
Sustainable aviation measures currently include using fuels made from corn grain, oil seeds, algae and wet wastes, however these have been criticised due to challenges of scaling up production.
