The UK’s first all-electric airline, EcoJet, has committed to launching in early 2024 and will run on fully hydrogen-electric power by 2025.
Dale Vince, who is the central figure behind the startup airline EcoJet, is a prominent eco-entrepreneur, having established Ecotricity: the UK’s first green energy company in 1995.
He is also the chairman of Forest Green Rovers, a football club and stadium that is similarly eco-conscious and only serves vegan food.
These plans will run on regular jet fuel for the first year, but they will be retrofitted with engines that convert hydrogen into electricity exactly one year after the first flight.
The intention is to get the planes into the air to receive proper routes and a license from the Civil Aviation Authority. Once the technology is fully operational and approved around 2025, they will simply swap the engines to hydrogen fuel-powered mechanisms.
In a press release, Ecojet stated, “The decision to repurpose old planes rather than build new models from scratch will save 90,000 tons of carbon per year. The only byproduct will be water, which can be captured and released into the lower atmosphere to avoid the harmful effects of contrails”.
Learn more about EcoJet’s new all-electric airline below:
Featured image credit The Guardian and EcoJet
