Industry White Papers

Carbon Free Aviation’s goal is to collect and curate the foremost thinking on the full spectrum of challenges facing the migration to an aviation industry completely free from carbon emissions. Towards that end we have collected here a library of White Papers, each produced by the finest minds in the sector, working for the preeminent consulting firms, industrial, governmental and non-governmental players, all of whom have a role to play in creating the eventual mix of technologies, practices and policies that will make carbon free aviation a reality.

While the primary challenge is undoubtedly developing a propulsion technology with the power to weight properties needed to transport payloads over long distances, there are multiples of secondary issues that need to be considered.

A jet engine’s organizing principle is scale. It is a hugely inefficient method of propulsion, with a thermodynamic efficiency in the range of 50%. Everything about this fundamental driver of the aviation industry points towards consolidation. In order to achieve efficiency improvements jet engines must become larger, which lead them to being attached to larger aircraft, flying to larger hub airports with longer runways. This technology is in direct conflict with customer’s needs. They was to flying directly from where they are to where they want to go, connection through large airports is painful. Flying in high density configured aircraft with 200 other people is a pain. Large hub airports are finding it increasingly difficult to provide the number of slots that airlines demand.

Meanwhile, electric propulsion breaks this paradigm. The efficiency of an electric aircraft is not correlated to its size. Small aircraft, could fly a smaller number of people exactly to where they want to go. VTOL  aircraft eliminate the need for large airports with huge runways – and all of the noise and pollution issues, which lead to planning objections from local residents.

Browse the white papers and research documents below to find out what the best minds in the industry think about the journey to Carbon Free Aviation.

International Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organized made up of OECD member countries. It acts both as an information source on energy statistics and as a policy advisor to its member states to ensure secure affordable and sustainable energy for all.

A roadmap for the global energy sector

In this report the IEA maps out a potentially viable roadmap to transition the global energy generation infrastructure to net zero carbon emissions. How to get there in a way that still provide the world and it’s people with stable and economical access to energy. And is inline with the 2050 target for net zero carbon, which is required to have any chance of avoid the worst affects of climate change. Download the full report here.

Title: Net Zero by 2050

Topics: All global sources and uses of energy, carbon policy, international agreements

Date: 18 May 2021

McKinsey is a top-tier strategy consulting firm, home to many thought leaders in aviation and has produced several exceptional white papers on the transition to Carbon Free Aviation

Imagining a future of network of city-wide UAMs

This excellent McKinsey white paper does a detailed deep dive into both the economics of UAM vehicles and vertipad infrastructure that would be required for a network of UAMs to provide the sort of city-wide coverage that would be needed to compete with current ground transportation taxis. Read the full paper here. 

Title: To take off, flying vehicles first need places to land

Topics: infrastructure, UAM, vertipads, electrical aviation economics

Date: 31 Aug 2020

McKinsey's roadmap for airlines to achieve carbon free aviation

Here McKinsey’s senior aviation consultants lay out the regulatory and customer attitudes towards the carbon emissions due to the airline industry and outline the various options to offset, mitigate or prevents these emissions. Read the full paper here. 

Title: How airlines can chart a path to zero-carbon flying

Topics: future of aviation, climate change, carbon limits, SAF

Date: 13 May 2020

Roland Berger is world class strategy consulting firm, who’s publications have provide valuable insights on the road to Carbon Free Aviation