easyJet fully commits to Airbus direct carbon capture project

UK airline easyJet has become the first to fully commit to the Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) program that was launched in July last year by Airbus. The airline has signed a contract with the OEM that commits it to offset carbon emissions through DACCS technology. easyJet says that it has pre-purchased removal credits for 400.000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The credits will last for four years between 2026 and 2029 and will be issued by 1PointFive, which is partnering with the program. The airline hasn’t disclosed how much it is investing in the technology. easyJet was among seven airlines at the 2022 Farnborough Airshow to sign a Letter of Intent for the DACCS project. Other airlines are International Airlines Group (IAG), Air France-KLM, Air Canada, Lufthansa Group, LATAM Group, and Virgin Atlantic. Back then, Airbus and the airlines said that they would commit to pre-purchase verified and durable carbon removal credits from 2025. 1PointFive, which is a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, is actually doing the carbon removal. This disruptive technology works as a huge vacuum cleaner that sucks up air with fans. The carbon dioxide is extracted from the air and permanently stored in underground reservoirs. A carbon capture facility was built and tested in Canada by Carbon Engineering, in which both Airbus and Air Canada made an investment in November last year. 1PointFive is partnering with Carbon Engineering and is building a large-scale facility in the Permian Basin (Texas) that should be capable of extracting one million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. The plan is to have the facility up and running in 2024. EasyJet's Thomas Haagensen and Airbus' Wouter van Wersch present the agreement that confirms the airline's commitment to the direct-capture project. (Airbus) One means to get to net zero For easyJet and most other airlines that signaled their commitment, carbon capture is just one method of reducing their carbon footprint. The technology accounts for 22 percent of easyJet’s sustainability roadmap to get to net zero in 2050, the airline said in September 2022. The remaining 78 percent reduction of CO2 per passenger should come from using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in new-technology aircraft, operational efficiencies and airspace modernization, and the introduction of hydrogen. easyJet has said that it wants to be one of the first airlines to operate a hydrogen airliner and is keen to have one from Airbus. The OEM intends to launch a hydrogen aircraft in 2027 or 2028 and is working closely with Rolls-Royce. Speaking of the challenges of decarbonizing aviation, easyJet’s Group’s Market Director, Thomas Haagensen, said in a media statement: “Decarbonizing a hard-to-abate sector, such as aviation, is a huge challenge and we believe carbon removal will play an important role in addressing our residual emissions in the future, complementing other components to help us achieve our pathway to net zero.” “Our ultimate aim is to achieve zero carbon emission flying and, as well as investing into important projects like direct air carbon capture technology, we are working with multiple partners – including Airbus – to accelerate the development of zero carbon emission aircraft technology.” easyJet offered carbon offsetting to customers using traditional schemes because the Science-Based Targets initiative doesn’t recognize out-of-sector offsetting. That’s why airlines stopped offering it on January 1 this year, although flights that were booked in advance until September 30 still counted for the offsetting scheme. Offsetting is also part of Europe’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which has been amended as part of the Fit for 55 program to reduce emissions. From 2026, free allowances will be reduced. “This agreement demonstrates the airline’s (easyJet’s) willingness to extend its environmental commitment through Airbus’ Carbon Capture Offer. Initiatives such as this one underline Airbus’ commitment to decarbonization solutions for our industry and to, bringing together airlines and industry players from all sectors in order to build a sustainable aviation ecosystem,” said Julie Kitcher, Executive Vice President of Communications, Sustainability, and Corporate Affairs at Airbus.

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