Iberia states in Global Mobility Call that it will not be possible to cross the Atlantic in an electric plane ‘in the short term’
IFEMA MADRID, together with Smobhub, organised Global Mobility Call to analyse the current situation of air mobility. Specifically, a round table was held on the conclusions of the report ‘How to make Spain the European leader in SAF’.
Juan Cierco, corporate director of Iberia and representative of CEOE; Domingo Ureña Raso, president and CEO of Mym Group; Nacho Tovar, director of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Iberia; Marta Cencillo Manteca, head of Sustainable Aviation at MOEVE; Óscar Barrero Gil, partner in charge of Energy & Utilities at PwC; and Margarita de Gregorio, president of the Alliance for Sustainability in Air Transport, debated the future of sustainable aviation and the challenges of the sector in the energy transition, at the round table entitled How to make Spain the European leader in SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel)?
At this round table, Iberia pointed out that it will not be possible to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an electric or hydrogen combustion aircraft ‘in the short term’ and that decarbonisation will have to be achieved by making sustainable aviation fuel cheaper. The executive explained that ‘perhaps a Madrid-Valencia flight will be possible as a test in a few years’ time, but getting from Madrid to New York, Buenos Aires or Lima ‘is not going to be possible in the short term’, in reference to the decarbonisation targets set for 2030 and 2050.
According to Cierco, SAF is ‘the only concrete tool’ to meet the goals of net zero emissions in 2050, as it reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80% in a life cycle and will do so by up to 100% when synthetic SAF, a fuel that is currently under development, can be used.
Other actors in the commercial aviation value chain also took part in the event, calling for greater proximity to the Administration in this discussion, in order to accelerate the production of SAF, which costs four to five times more than fossil fuels. In this way, the round table also analysed a recent report by the Ministry of Science, which states that Spain has a net potential to produce 214 million tonnes of biomass per year at present, which is largely ‘unused’.
Once again, Iberia's corporate director stated that ‘political will is needed’ and that of all the actors involved to produce a higher volume of SAF so that it can be made cheaper, and so that the high price is not passed on to the airline tickets purchased by users.
*Content provided by Agencia EFE