Assessing the environmental and economic sustainability of hydrogen and sustainable fuels for aviation

要在航空领域实现实质性的气候变化减缓，就需要过渡到生命周期温室气体（GHG）排放量最小的燃料。在短期内，可持续航空燃料（SAF）可以取代传统燃料，并实现显著的减排。由于其在物理特性和化学成分方面与常规燃料相似，所以在与现有燃料供应链（运输、储存、加油）的兼容性以及在不经修改的情况下用于现有飞机发动机方面，插入式燃料具有重要的优势。氢气是生产可持续航空燃料的关键投入，无论是通过加氢处理工艺生产油基原料，还是通过醇制喷气燃料生产途径。长期直接使用氢作为航空燃料具有潜在的优势，因为在其液体形式下，它表现出比传统燃料和SAF更高的重量能量密度，从而可以提高飞机的燃料效率。然而，使用氢燃料将需要在飞机技术以及用于氢的生产、输送、储存和液化以及飞机加油的地面系统方面进行重大改变。该项目将全面评估SAF和氢燃料在低碳航空领域的潜力，考虑因素包括：关键技术的技术成熟度;燃料的预期未来可用性;技术经济性能;以及生命周期温室气体、环境和资源影响。

Achieving substantial climate change mitigation in the aviation sector requires a transition to fuels with minimal life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the near-term, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the form of drop-in fuels can displace conventional fuels and achieve significant reductions in emissions. Drop-in fuels have important advantages in terms of their compatibility with existing fuel supply chains (transportation, storage, refuelling) and use in existing aircraft engines without modification, due to their similarities with conventional fuels in terms of their physical characteristics and chemical composition. Hydrogen is a key input to the production of sustainable aviation fuels, both for oil-based feedstocks via hydrotreatment process, and for alcohol-to-jet fuel production pathways. Longer-term, direct use of hydrogen as an aviation fuel offers potential advantages as, in its liquid form, it exhibits a higher gravimetric energy density than conventional fuels and SAF, and thus could improve the fuel efficiency of aircraft. However, use of hydrogen fuels would require substantial changes both in aircraft technologies, as well as in ground systems for the production, delivery, storage, and liquefaction of hydrogen, and refuelling of aircraft. This project will comprehensively assess the potential of SAF and hydrogen fuels for low carbon aviation, considering: technology readiness of key technologies; anticipated future availability of fuels; techno-economic performance; and life cycle GHG, environment, and resource implications.Deliverables:-Life cycle assessment model of key SAF and hydrogen fuel production routes and their use-Techno-economic models of SAF and hydrogen fuel production routes and their use