Air NZ and Airbus Team Up To Hit Net-Zero

Bobby Barker

As the months and years continue to tick over and the endless list of bleak headlines regarding the climate crisis only grows longer, the push to reduce national emissions becomes an increasingly pressing challenge for New Zealand. While debate around the national effort was reignited with the implementation of the ‘Clean Car Discount’, which went into effect earlier this year and proved instantly divisive, the latest news from Air New Zealand will likely prove to be a far less controversial solution among the general populace.

In a partnered initiative with international aerospace organisation, Airbus, New Zealand’s national airline is exploring the possibility of creating and adopting a zero-emissions aircraft, which would significantly reduce their contribution to the current national figure. The pair are currently investigating the viability of a hydrogen-propulsion engine as a replacement to the current model. The two organisations recently signed a Memoriam of Understanding, which designates to Air New Zealand the responsibility of analysing the effects of implementing a hydrogen-engine into its network, with Airbus being tasked with providing performance requirements and ground operation support to make the proposal a reality. Airbus has had a jump start on their end as they are already in the process of developing a zero-emissions engine with their ZEROe project, which they announced in September of last year. Using liquid hydrogen as fuel, the concept engine generates power by creating hydrogen combustion through a modified gas-turbine engine.

CEO’s of both companies have expressed their excitement with the partnership (which, its worth noting, has no financial incentives going either way). Airbus CEO Anand Stanley praised Air New Zealand and claimed that the company was chosen as a partner for their ongoing zero-emissions project, due to their commitment to sustainability and the alignment between the two companies existing net-zero targets. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran commented that the partnership would bring the company “a step closer to seeing low carbon solutions in place for our shorter domestic and regional flights in the next decade.”

Air New Zealand is not the first Kiwi airline to state their intention to make the switch from traditional CO2 engine aircraft. Marlborough-based Sounds Air announced in 2020 a similar proposal (albeit on a smaller scale), partnering with Heart Aerospace with the goal of offering carbon-free domestic commercial flights by 2026. It remains to be see whether this forward thinking with become a serious trend both here in New Zealand and aboard, but it appears that, at least domestically, companies are beginning to consider making the big changes to do their part in helping New Zealand lead the way on reducing emissions.

Top image courtesy of Tony Hisgett.