Keflavik Airport in Iceland is a growing international travel hub and, like Iceland, sits at the crossroads of two continents, straddling the North American and Eurasian plates.
Air travel today is also at a crossroads. There are calls to limit flight frequency to reduce carbon emissions, and the burden of the choice falls mostly on individual consumers and travelers. Air travel should be considered an option alongside other modes of transportation for long- and short-distance travel, but it is unrealistic to plan a future where flying does not play a major role in our way of life. In other words, we need to reduce the amount of commercial air travel as much as possible, but at the same time we need to find decarbonization solutions.
With all this in mind, what might a more systemic solution to a greener future for air travel look like?
Buro Happold, in collaboration with design firm KCAP, developed the masterplan for Sudurnes Peninsula, which includes KeflavÃk International Airport. The project involves the construction of a new industrial, commercial and research district in addition to the existing airport facilities. Specifically, Buro Happold is providing sustainability consulting services to devise a local energy strategy that leverages the airport's unique location and the peninsula's natural resources, and explores the potential for decarbonizing air travel. Working closely with architects and local and national governments, Buro Happold's energy team is using its specific skills and knowledge to develop long-term solutions that are rooted in the local context, but have global impact.
KCAP and Buro Happold's KeflavÃk Airport Area Strategic Master Plan proposes several potential solutions to decarbonise air travel, such as relying on local renewable energy and replacing kerosene with synthetic aviation fuel. Image: KCAP Decarbonising air travel with electricity
KCAP and Buro Happold's Keflavik Airport Area Strategic Master Plan (K64), named for its location along the 64th parallel, proposes several potential solutions, including a strategy to use renewable local energy systems to support aviation infrastructure. Iceland is a world leader in clean and sustainable energy production. Currently, 100% of the country's electricity is produced through renewable means, primarily hydroelectric and geothermal power. Transport and aviation in Iceland still rely on fossil fuels, accounting for 15% of total energy use. K64 demonstrates the feasibility of decarbonizing air travel using electricity in the short term, without significant changes to existing aviation infrastructure, such as aircraft engines and airport fueling systems.
Both the ReFuel EU and US Aviation Climate Action Plans set targets to decarbonise the global aviation industry by 2050 – an ambitious and challenging goal. In their K64 study, Buro Happold’s energy team concluded that a new type of synthetic aviation fuel, which is chemically similar to kerosene and could serve as a replacement for existing fuels, could pave the way forward.
Synthetic aviation fuel is the way of the future
Synthetic aviation fuel is chemically similar to kerosene and can be produced using a set of processes that have been understood for almost a century. Kerosene is a mixture of hydrocarbons consisting of long chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Fresh water in the environment can be split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity in a process called electrolysis. CO2 absorbed from the air or produced as industrial or domestic waste can be converted into carbon monoxide. Mixing hydrogen and carbon monoxide at high temperature and pressure produces hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons can then be cut to the required length using a carbon cracking process that relies on steam. The length of the hydrocarbon chain determines whether the hydrocarbon is natural gas (short), kerosene (medium), or wax (long).
Global changes in the aviation industry
K64 offers an opportunity to integrate sustainable aviation fuel into the operations of an international airport, demonstrating the potential for a sustainable transition throughout the aviation sector worldwide. The KeflavÃk airport area can develop the necessary energy capacity to produce synthetic aviation fuel for a significant number of flights. By expanding the renewable energy capacity in the airport area and leveraging existing resources, in particular two nearby geothermal plants, the masterplan defines a holistic approach to energy production and consumption.
Essentially, K64 aims to foster the development of sustainable business models, inform municipal decision-making processes regarding job creation and strengthening local infrastructure, and increase renewable energy production. To achieve these objectives, it will rely primarily on Iceland's renewable energy sources (hydropower, geothermal, and wind).
Application of the Keflavik method
The plan to produce synthetic aviation fuel is a good example of a sustainable approach to aviation, which will be necessary for the future of commercial air travel. Sustainable aviation fuel is one solution among many possible ones, both in KeflavÃk and around the world. The natural conditions around KeflavÃk Airport, and across Iceland, are unique, but K64's approach to energy offers a strategy that can be adapted and applied in a variety of situations. Buro Happold's energy team takes advantage of all current conditions to propose solutions that ensure lasting, sustainable operations.
