HyFlux’s superconducting motor could substantially improve propulsion power density, but its commercial value still depends on the aircraft, cryogenic fuel system and airport infrastructure around it.
HyFlux has an unusually interesting hydrogen-aviation proposition because the technology at its centre appears somewhat credible, if incredibly difficult to engineer and maintain. The UK company wants to exploit the extreme cold of liquid hydrogen already carried aboard a future hydrogen aircraft to cool a fully superconducting electric motor. Superconductivity … [continued]
Contrails, the white lines left by planes, contribute to global warming at a similar level to aviation’s CO₂ emissions, despite being produced by only a small share of flights. A new report by Klima Consulting, commissioned by T&E and authored by former IPCC scientist Olivier Boucher, finds that preventing their … [continued]
More than 300,000 plant-protection drones now perform roughly 203 million hectare-treatments annually in China. The market has moved beyond adoption into service, maintenance, renewal and operating standards.
Agricultural spray drones are no longer an emerging technology in China. They are ordinary farm machinery at extraordinary scale. China entered 2026 with about 309,000 plant-protection drones, and those aircraft performed roughly 203 million hectare-treatments during 2025. A hectare treated three times counts as three hectare-treatments, so that figure measures … [continued]
China’s high-speed rail removes dense short-haul corridors from aviation while helping define the regional routes where electric aircraft can make more sense.
The electric-aviation contest is often presented as a race between aircraft startups. That is probably the wrong unit of analysis. An airplane that flies once, wins a certification milestone or accumulates a large order book has demonstrated something useful, but it has not demonstrated an industry. What matters is whether … [continued]
Now Europe must unlock e-SAF investment. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today its Annual Technical Report on ReFuelEU Aviation (for 2025 data), providing the first full picture of the EU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market since the Regulation’s mandatory targets came into force. The report sends an … [continued]
A new T&E study finds expansions across twenty of Europe’s largest airports overshoot the 1.7 °C emissions budget by up to three times Planned expansions at twenty of Europe’s largest airports are incompatible with national climate targets and global warming limits. According to new research by T&E, the planned increases … [continued]
Under the ReFuelEU regulation, jet fuel suppliers face a dedicated sub-mandate requiring a growing share of synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF), i.e. SAF produced from green hydrogen combined with captured CO2, starting in 2030. Despite this obligation being known for years, most fuel suppliers have not developed their own e-SAF production … [continued]
Director-General Céline Gauer , DG ENER Director Lukasz Kolinski, DG ENER Head of Unit Kitti Nyitrai, DG ENER Director-General Magda Kopczynska, DG MOVE Director-General Kurt Vandenberghe, DG CLIMA Member State Expert Group on Renewable Fuels We, the undersigned, are writing to express our concern regarding the ongoing pressure to allow … [continued]
Hydrogen passenger aviation only reaches commercial scale if three sequential gates all open: an operator-ready aircraft, a throughput-capable airport fuel network, and a fleet large enough for meaningful scheduled service.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority announced its latest Hydrogen Challenge in the same week as I published my updated assessment of hydrogen passenger aviation. The regulator is examining hydrogen-aircraft turnarounds at London City Airport, cryogenic hydrogen storage and airside supply, while its broader hydrogen aviation roadmap targets scaled operations for … [continued]
The proposal to review the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) comes at a pivotal moment for Europe’s climate, industrial and economic policy. Since its launch in 2005, the EU ETS has become the EU’s flagship climate instrument, helping to reduce emissions from the power sector, industry, aviation and maritime … [continued]
