PR – Green Taxi Aerospace and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) are entering a groundbreaking partnership to develop electric aircraft taxiing technology that aims to reduce fuel use, operating costs, taxi time, and carbon emissions. Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab is contributing decades of airline operating experience to help Green Taxi optimize its electric taxiing system at airports for regional aircraft, though the vision extends far behind a single aircraft model or airline.
David Valaer, Founder and CEO of Green Taxi Aerospace, said, “This collaboration is about taking action today to show meaningful progress in aviation sustainability with technology that makes operations cleaner and more efficient.”
The Zero Engine Taxi™ benefits include the potential of saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel as a result of more efficient taxing processes that, in turn, contribute to cost savings.
“Our Green Taxi partnership is another example of Delta’s approach to impact what we can control today while we innovate future technologies like scaling sustainable aviation fuel and revolutionary fleet development,” said Sangita Sharma, director of Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab.
Delta is committed to a path to net-zero emissions by 2050, and with around 90% of Delta’s carbon emissions coming from jet fuel, the global airline is focusing its efforts under three pillars: ‘What we Fly, How we Fly, and The Fuel We Use.’
Notes:
- This partnership is a first in the US. We had a clue this was coming back in August after meeting David Valaer at the Pris show. We followed up with him for a conversation.
- Airlines, being the competitive bunch they are, will not allow any competitor to have even a smidgen of advantage. Expect others to follow Delta’s lead.
- This etaxi solution will likely find traction among regional jets first, so the Big Three are likely to be the first movers. Or the two others following Delta’s first move.
- Regional jets spend a lot more time on a taxiway than bigger aircraft. They are likely to show the highest benefit.
- Success among the US regionals is also likely to be copied elsewhere.
- One last point: US regional airlines are desperate for a solution to their operational costs. They can’t get new fuel-efficient aircraft because of the myopic Scope Clause. But they can tweak their current fleets to extract better economics. Green Taxi is a step in that direction.
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