Ryanair has proclaimed an extension of its €2.5 million support for Trinity College Dublin’s research into sustainable aviation. This initiative, announced on Thursday, aims to make air travel less detrimental to the environment. The university and the Irish airline first collaboratively initiated the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre at the Dublin university with a funding of €1.5 million from Ryanair in September 2021. This was to address the problems posed by climate change to aviation.
Ryanair will continue to maintain its support for the research centre until the end of this decade and has pledged an additional €2.5 million for the project, raising the complete funding to €4 million. The research being conducted by Trinity is concentrated on sustainable aviation fuel and zero-carbon propulsion systems for aircraft, as well as investigating non-carbon dioxide emissions from aviation.
According to findings submitted to the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency, using a blend of 50 per cent sustainable aviation fuel can reduce emissions from flying a passenger on a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation from Amsterdam to Dublin by 43 per cent. Ryanair asserts that a further reduction in these emissions can be achieved by using one of its Boeing 737-8200 aircraft, which utilise 16 per cent less fuel.
Thomas Fowler, Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, stated that their aim to accomplish net-zero carbon by 2050 and utilise 12.5 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 would not be viable without the research being undertaken by Trinity. He further emphasised the importance of further research into non-CO2 impacts from aviation to guide the industry towards more sustainable aviation.
The research has earned Trinity accolades as an “international destination for sustainable aviation research” from its Provost and President, Dr Linda Doyle. Trinity’s Dean of Research, Prof Sinéad Ryan, also expressed confidence that Ryanair’s ongoing support would lead to enhanced developments and innovations.
There was recent news that the UK government, one of the largest markets for Ryanair, plans to enforce new legislation to support sustainable aviation fuel before their upcoming general election. As part of this initiative, they have committed to ensuring that 10 percent of jet fuel used for flights departing from the UK would be sustainable by 2030.