The threat from Thwaites: The retreat of Antarctica's riskiest glacier

by British Antarctic Survey

Thwaites ice cliff. The glacier currently contributes four percent of annual global sea level 

rise. Credit: Rob Larter, BAS

Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to a faster flow, more fracturing and a threat of collapse, according to an international team of scientists. The glacier currently contributes four percent of annual global sea level rise. If it does collapse, global sea levels would rise by several feet—putting millions of people living in coastal locations in danger from extreme flooding.

Dr. Peter Davis, Physical Oceanographer at British Antarctic Survey (BAS), says: "Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is a river of ice the size of Great Britain that has been changing dramatically over the past 30 years. The speed at which it flows into the ocean has doubled, and there are fears that a complete collapse of the glacier could raise sea levels by over 60cm. Critically, the glacier is currently held back by an ice shelf, a floating extension of the glacier that is held in place by an underwater mountain.

Recent research as part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration has shown that this ice shelf is under attack from all sides. It is being melted from below by warm ocean waters, causing it to lose its grip on the underwater mountain. At the same time, massive fractures are forming and growing across the ice shelf surface. The research suggests that at the current rate of change, this critical ice shelf will begin to break apart within the next two decades, with severe consequences for the stability of Thwaites Glacier and ultimately sea level here in the UK."

Thwaites field camp. Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly

 erases its ice from below. Credit: BAS

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration is a collaboration between UK and US scientists, involving over 60 scientists and students. This five year project is aimed at collecting instrument data throughout the glacier and the adjacent ocean, and modeling ice flow and the future of the ice sheet. Their work has revealed major changes in the ice, the surrounding water and the area where it floats of the bedrock below. The ITGC It is one of BAS' flagship projects and several of our science and support staff are currently being deployed for the start of the 2021–2022 field research season.

Thwaites sits in West Antarctica, flowing across a 120km stretch of frozen coastline. A third of the glacier flows more slowly than the rest—it's braced by a floating ice shelf which prevents faster flow of the upstream ice. But the brace of ice slowing Thwaites won't last for long, said Erin Petitt, an associate professor at Oregon State University. Beneath the surface, warmer ocean water circulating beneath the floating eastern side is melting the ice directly from beneath. This floating extension of the Thwaites Glacier will likely only survive a few more years.

Peter Davis, whose team use hot water to drill access holes from the surface of the ice shelf to the ocean cavity hundreds of meters below, adds: "Warm water is also a threat for the so-called 'grounding zone,' the area where the glacier lifts off the seabed. The ocean waters in the grounding zone are warm, by polar standards, and salty, and this generates prime conditions for melting the ice shelf from beneath."

Credit: British Antarctic Survey

Peter Washam, a research associate at Cornell University, also studies the grounding zone. His team lowered a remote-controlled underwater robot through the borehole to take measurements of the ocean, ice and seafloor in this region. They mapped these properties up to the point where the ice and seafloor came in contact. Washam describes the grounding zone as "chaotic," with warm water, rugged ice, and a steep, sloping bottom that allows the water to quickly melt the ice sheet from below.

Upstream of here, researchers have found that water is pumped under the ice sheet by tides. Lizzy Clyne, an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark College, and their team study the tidal pumping mechanism that physically forces warm water between the ice and bedrock at Thwaites. The floating portion of the glacier rises and falls with the tides—and that motion acts like a lever, pumping water under the ice sheet. Also, downstream of the grounding zone on the bottom of the floating ice shelf, constant stretching and melting is rapidly creating long channels through the ice where water can flow, impacting the long term stability of the ice shelf, said Clyne.

As Thwaites retreats upstream and into the ice sheet, it may form very tall ice cliffs at the ocean front. Anna Crawford, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of St. Andrews, and her team use computer modeling to study ice cliff failure: a process by which ice can break off the ends of the glacier into the open ocean. The process can take on many forms, but all of them could lead to very rapid retreat of the massive glacier. The bedrock shape of West Antarctica makes the region vulnerable to rapid retreat via ice-cliff failure, as increasingly tall cliffs could be exposed as the ice retreats. This could lead to a chain-reaction of fracturing, resulting in collapse, said Crawford. A challenge for the team is assessing if, when, and how fast this might occur, but major ice loss is possible within several decades to a few centuries.

Thwaites Glacier is one of Antarctica’s most unstable glaciers. Credit: Jeremy Harbeck

Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) says: "If Thwaites were to collapse, it would drag most of West Antarctica's ice with it, so its critical to get a clearer picture of how the glacier will behave over the next 100 years. "

ITGC research, including future sea-level projections, will be vital for policy makers in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of global sea level rise.Scientists find record warm water in Antarctica, pointing to cause behind troubling glacier melt

More information: For more information, see thwaitesglacier.org/

Provided by British Antarctic Survey 

The teenagers and the nun trying to stop an Australian coal mine

By Kayleen Devlin
BBC Monitoring

Sister Brigid Arthur and Anjali Sharma outside the federal court in Melbourne with their lawyer David Barnden

When eight teenagers and an elderly nun in Australia teamed up for a climate case, they won, in a historic judgement. Their case has now been appealed by the country's government. If the final verdict swings in their favour, it will have ramifications not just for Australian law but for climate cases world-wide.

In May this year, Anjali Sharma was sitting in her economics class at school in Melbourne when the court in Sydney live-streamed the results of a climate case she had found herself at the centre of. It took a while to sink in.

"To me it all just sounded like jargon. It took a briefing from my legal team to understand the magnitude of what had happened," she says.

At that moment 17-year-old Ms Sharma and the seven other teenagers involved in her case had made history. Alongside 87-year-old Catholic nun Brigid Arthur, who acted as the young people's legal guardian, they'd taken Australia's environment minister, Sussan Ley, to court - and won.

"It felt really rewarding to be able to engage in something so historic for Australia, and needed too," says Ms Sharma.

Their case attempted to stop the expansion of the Vickery coal mine in New South Wales, which is estimated to add an extra 170 million tonnes of fossil fuel emissions to the atmosphere.

The judge in their case, Mordy Bromberg, ruled that the government had a duty to protect young people against future harm related to climate change. It's the first time in the world that a duty of care of this kind has been recognised.

Justice Bromberg did not, however, grant them an injunction to prevent the expansion of the mine. In his view, the court didn't have any evidence that Sussan Ley would actually approve the extension, and any injunction would be pre-emptive.

Yet in September Ms Ley approved the extension of the Vickery coal mine, as well as three others since then. The government is also appealing the decision in the Sharma case - the outcome of which is due soon.


Environment minister Sussan Ley

The government used a "substitution argument" as one reason to approve Vickery, says the lawyer representing the Sharma case, David Barnden.

"It's the argument that if this particular coal project didn't go ahead, it wouldn't make a difference to the total amount of emissions because effectively the market would fulfill that demand. That's otherwise known as the drug dealer's defence - it's the idea that 'If I don't deal drugs then somebody else will.'"

For Sister Brigid Arthur, the minister's decisions since the success of their case are "quite provocative".

Sister Arthur has spent a lifetime working with young people. For over two decades she has been acting as a litigation guardian - instructing lawyers on behalf of those who can't represent themselves - in cases mostly involving refugees. Before that she was a secondary school teacher. This is her first environmental case.

"It's engaged young people in a way that seems quite extraordinary. It's certainly for me something new," she says.

She was approached by lawyers just over a year ago who asked her to act as the teenagers' litigation guardian. She didn't take much convincing.

"I'm pretty passionate about climate change and while I don't work directly in this area, I'm very conscious of the fact that it's important for people to do what they can.

"Young people are the ones who will inherit whatever we're doing now, so they have every right to be calling people to account."


Ms Sharma says Australia must take urgent climate action

In speaking out, Ms Sharma has made herself a target for attacks.

"I've been messaged a lot of threats," she says.

"Some of the big news sources in Australia have, I guess, quite a right-wing following, so when news sources like that have covered my story I learned really quickly not to read the comments."

A 2019 report which investigated four publications owned by Australia's most powerful media company, News Corp Australia, argued that they promoted climate scepticism. Of over 8,000 articles analysed, 45% of all items either rejected or cast doubt upon consensus scientific findings.

In response, a News Corp Australia spokesman said the year-old report was "imbalanced" and coming from "a political activist group with a history of bias against our company's journalism".

News Corp Australia recently has been viewed as softening its hostility towards climate action by advocating for net zero emissions by 2050.

Despite this, shortly before and during COP26, videos from News Corp-owned Sky News Australia were recycled and found traction on social media amongst climate sceptics.

One Sky News Australia segment in which the host condemns youth climate activists as "selfish, badly educated, virtue-signalling little turds" was shared by the head of the advocacy group the CO2 coalition and received over 45,000 likes and 16,000 retweets.

As the science of climate change has become harder to argue with, a growing and common tactic is often to shoot the messenger instead - often accusing them of hypocrisy.

"Comments like 'Oh, she's wearing jeans and I bet she doesn't know how much water goes into producing a pair of jeans,'" says Ms Sharma. "And you know, they're right. I do own a pair of jeans. But me not owning that pair of jeans is not going to cut Australia's emissions in half by 2030."



More on climate change in Australia:

Why Australia refuses to give up coal

How climate politics is bitterly contested

Australian Islanders take climate fight to the UN



When Sister Brigid first met the teenagers, who knew each other through attending climate protests, she was struck by their passion. She describes them as a group of young people "who really believe in this, who feel like they can't stop".

"There are very few greys with young people," she says. "Everything is so black and white."

But for now, all they can do is wait for the result of the appeal to be announced.

Despite widespread recognition of the need to move away from coal, there are different approaches when it comes to putting that knowledge into practice. At the COP26 summit in Glasgow, coal became a point of contention after delegates from China and India requested a last-minute change to the agreement, switching the phrase "phase out" coal with "phase down".

The results of the appeal and their case could be game-changing - not only for Australia but for other parts of the world too.

A success in their case could signal an erosion in support for fossil fuel burning and extraction with more lawsuits of this kind ahead. But if the minister's appeal is successful, it could see courts effectively vacate the climate field.


Only Indonesia exports more coal than Australia

Australia is the world's second-largest exporter of coal. Following the Glasgow summit, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the coal industry will be operating in the country for "decades to come". He added that the plan to achieve net zero by 2050 will not come at the cost of rural and regional Australians.

"The world is grappling with this collective action problem of climate change. Every mine has its part to play and every decision counts," says Mr Barnden.

"What the court found was that the emissions from this particular extension project could be the emissions that tip us over the edge to these nonlinear tipping points which would further accelerate climate change."

He hopes that the duty of care ruling - if maintained through the appeal process - can influence other jurisdictions and give hope to young people to be able to participate in the legal process.

"It's a very foundational legal case to approach the problems caused by climate change, and the principles of negligence exist in a whole range of common law countries, from the UK, to New Zealand, Canada and the US as well."

It's too soon to tell whether this case will provide a turning point on climate inaction. But for Ms Sharma and the other teenagers involved in her case, the time for action is now.

"I really hope the federal court realises that Australia is now running behind the rest of the world, and that the duty of care that my case seeks to establish is really, really needed right now."

Nanodiamonds are key to efficient hydrogen purification

by Kyoto University

This image offers an abstract visual representation of graphene oxide sheets

 (black layers) embedded with nanodiamonds (bright white points). The 

nanodiamonds exert long range electrostatic forces (nebulous white circles) 

which stabilize the sheets even in humid conditions creating a promising 

membrane material for hydrogen purification. (Ⓒ Yasuhiro Chida (Brocken 5) 

and Toru Tsuji (Photograph)). Credit: Ⓒ Yasuhiro Chida (Brocken 5) and Toru

 Tsuji (Photograph)

Nanodiamonds may be tiny, but they can help with one of the biggest problems facing humanity today: climate change.

Hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel, leaves nothing but water when consumed. Many countries view hydrogen as a way to a zero-carbon future, but switching to a hydrogen economy requires its production to be much more affordable than it is now.

In a study published in Nature Energy this month, researchers led by Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) describe how nanodiamond-reinforced composite membranes can purify hydrogen from its humid mixtures, making the hydrogen generation processes vastly more efficient and cost-effective.

"There are several scalable methodologies to produce hydrogen, but hydrogen generally comes as humid mixtures and their purification is a challenge," says Professor Easan Sivaniah, who led the iCeMS team. "Membrane technology allows for energy-efficient and economical separation processes. But we need to have the right membrane materials to make it work," Sivaniah added.

Graphene oxide (GO), a water-soluble derivative of graphite, can be assembled to form a membrane that can be used for hydrogen purification. Hydrogen gas easily passes through these filters, while larger molecules get stuck.

Hydrogen is typically separated from CO2 or O2 in very humid conditions. GO sheets are negatively charged, which causes them to repel each other. When exposed to humidity, the negatively charged sheets repel each other even more, allowing water molecules to accumulate in the spaces between the GO sheets, which eventually dissolves the membrane.

Dr. Behnam Ghalei, who co-supervised the research, explained that adding nanodiamonds to the GO sheets resolves the humidity-induced disintegration problem. "Positively charged nanodiamonds can cancel out the membrane's negative repulsions, making the GO sheets more compact and water-resistant."

The team also included other research groups from Japan and abroad. The researchers at Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (SPring-8 / JASRI) conducted advanced X-ray studies. The Institute for Quantum Life Science (QST) helped with materials development. ShanghaiTech University (China) and National Central University (Taiwan) were involved in state-of-the-art materials characterizations.

"In our collaboration with Dr. Ryuji Igarashi of QST, we were able to access nanodiamonds with well-defined sizes and functionality, without which the research would not have been possible," says Sivaniah. "Importantly, Igarashi's group has a patented technology to scale up nanodiamonds production at a reasonable cost in the future."

Sivaniah says that nanodiamonds have potential uses beyond hydrogen production. Humidity control is also vital in a number of other fields, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lithium-ion battery production. Membrane technology could also revolutionize air conditioning by efficiently removing humidity. Air conditioners are among the most inefficient ways to cool, as a significant amount of the electricity used to power them is used to remove humidity, generating more CO2 emissions and creating a vicious spiral for global warming.

The Japanese government is deeply committed to a zero-carbon future. It has established a US$20 billion Green Innovation Fund to support joint partnerships between major industry players and entrepreneurial ventures that bring new technologies to the market.Novel hydrogen fuel purification membrane paves the way for greener future

More information: Overcoming humidity-induced catastrophic swelling of graphene oxide-based hydrogen membranes using charge-compensating nanodiamonds, Nature Energy (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00946-y

Journal information: Nature Energy 

Provided by Kyoto University 

UK
Half of new engineering recruits lack required skills

A new survey suggests that less than half of new engineering recruits have the required skills for work within the industry.
16th December 2021

According to the report from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), over two thirds (71 per cent) of the engineering workforce experiencing internal skills gaps say it is down to missing engineering or technical skills.

Nearly all (96 per cent) employers who had identified a skills shortage said that it impacts their business in some way, the most common of those being around recruitment.

Difficulties recruiting (50 per cent) or making recruitment timelines longer (47 per cent) were identified as common results. Less than half (45 per cent) of companies who see a skills shortage within young people provide additional training for apprentices and graduates, while 25 per cent simply recruit fewer apprentices and graduates as a result.

Lack of recruitment from a diverse talent pool may also be fuelling the problem, the report found — only a third of businesses were shown to be taking action to improve workforce diversity across gender (33 per cent) or ethnicity (30 per cent).

When asked what support businesses need from government to improve skills nationally, more funding for apprenticeships came out on top (54 per cent) with more support to train or re-skill in priority areas (51 per cent) and better careers advice in schools and colleges (49 per cent) next in line.

Government urged to help embed STEM in primary education

Guest blog: Skills must keep up pace with emerging technology

Simon Edwards, director of governance and external engagement at the IET, said that economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and Covid-19 has been a factor in the skills shortage coupled with the drive to deliver on net zero targets, resulting in an emergence of new engineering roles with new required skill sets.

“Workers are in high demand but we don’t have the readily available recruits with the right skills to fill the labour market — something we have been reporting via the skills survey for the last 15 years,” Edwards said. “Frustratingly, nothing has changed.”

He explained that this year, engineering employers are seeing a general lack of applicants for roles causing more difficulty in recruitment — 34 per cent reported this, a marked increase on 2020 (22 per cent).

“We are urging more businesses to provide work experience opportunities for young people to help with the rollout of T Levels and more apprenticeships. To solve this skills crisis there needs to be deeper engagement between government, employers and the education system to produce a talent pipeline that can sustain a thriving UK economy.”

Edwards added the IET has already called for the embedding of engineering into the existing science, technology and mathematics learning at primary school.

Despite the impact of the pandemic on recruitment and skills, firms remain positive about the future, the report said, with 79 per cent confident about the economic prospects for their firm and 77 per cent for the sector. However, three in ten companies have experienced decreased headcount over the last year and half of these attribute this directly to Covid-19.

Whilst 12 months ago the top priority was cutting costs (44 per cent), current top priorities for firms focus on improving profitability (67 per cent) and productivity (62 per cent).

Engineering employers recognised particular areas of skills as important for economic growth over the next five years, with design and manufacturing recognised as a key area by 36 per cent of respondents.

Most (64 per cent) have the skills they think they need, however energy and environmental sustainability was the second most cited area for growth (35 per cent) and only half (51 per cent) have the required skills. In light of this, only 50 per cent think it is achievable for their organisation to be net zero by 2050.

The full report is available to read here.

Hydrogen Airships Promise Zero Emissions at Quarter the Price of Plane Cargo

They could be "critical in the fight against climate change."

By Chris Young

Dec 15, 2021

H2 Clipper


A California-based startup called H2 Clipper wants to resurrect the hydrogen-filled airship as a form of mass transport. The key difference is that it won't be transporting people, it will be transporting cargo, a press statement reveals.

The company aims to kickstart a green global cargo network by leveraging the world's renewed willingness to try alternative forms of transport following the IPCC's dire climate change report for 2021.

H2 Clipper claims its cargo airships can carry 8-10 times the payload of the best cargo plane over 6,000 miles (9,656 km), and it can do so at a quarter of the price. They will have a payload capacity of approximately 340,000 lb (150,000 kg) sitting in up to 265,000 cubic feet (7,530 cubic meters) of cargo space.

As for speed, the H2 Clipper would travel at a cruising speed of 175 mph (282 km/h), meaning it would move close to ten times faster than a cargo ship — though it would obviously lag behind a cargo plane in that department. The main advantage over today's cargo planes is that the H2 Clipper produces zero carbon emissions.
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Removing the need for large ground infrastructure

H2 Clipper's airships will run on hydrogen gas through a fuel cell with all-electric propulsion systems. As NewAtlas points out, their range of over 6,000 miles (~9,650 km) means that they can connect any two points on the globe with only one refuel stop.

As for transport costs, H2 Clipper says prices will range between $0.177 to $0.247 a ton per mile for distances between 1,000-6,000 miles (~1,610-9,650 km). That's a quarter of the price of aircraft cargo transportation, according to the company. While that is more expensive than cargo shipping, the shipping industry will likely be levied with heavy carbon taxes in the coming years as governments aim to cut down emissions.

H2 Clipper's concept hydrogen airships have a range of over 6,000 miles.

 Source: H2 Clipper

H2 Clipper's airships may also be able to cut out a certain portion of the logistics required for shipping and aircraft due to its vertical take off and landing (VTOL) configuration. Earlier this year, a Russian firm called Aerosmena also revealed plans to develop large cargo airships that would remove the requirement for large ground infrastructure. The real question may be, can firms like H2 Clipper and Aerosmena change the perception of hydrogen airships fueled by the Hindenburg disaster and earn flight certification in the coming years. According to H2 Clipper at least, its form of "100 percent emissions-free delivery of goods" will be "critical in the fight against climate change."

Almost 85 years on from the Hindenburg disaster and the future of hydrogen is… airships?

Start-up claims the cheapest and cleanest way to transport H2 over long distances will be hydrogen-powered zeppelins

A rendering of the H2 Clipper airship. Photo: H2 Clipper

The dramatic explosion of the Hindenburg hydrogen airship in New Jersey in 1937 may have tainted public opinion about the safety of H2 for decades, but that has not prevented a US start-up from forging ahead with plans for a new generation of hydrogen-powered zeppelins.

Hydrogen: hype, hope and the hard truths around its role in the energy transition
Will hydrogen be the skeleton key to unlock a carbon-neutral world? Subscribe to Accelerate Hydrogen, powered by Recharge and Upstream, and get the market insight you need for this rapidly evolving global market.


California-based H2 Clipper has been selected for inclusion in French software developer Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Lab accelerator programme, which the start-up says will “advance its mission of developing and commercializing a global fleet of 100% green airships that transform the hydrogen and air transport industry”.

Unlike the ill-fated Hindenburg, the H2 Clipper airship will not transport passengers, but only pure hydrogen. So H2 will be the fuel, the lifting gas and the cargo.

“H2 Clipper’s 21st-century airship is designed for transporting pure hydrogen from where it is least costly to produce to markets where clean energy is most needed, and for enabling a 100% carbon-free method of transporting freight and other cargo 7-10 times faster than by ship, truck, or rail, and at a 70% savings over traditional air transport,” the company said in a statement.

“As more hydrogen projects are announced globally, there’s a growing appreciation among leading analysts that one of the biggest challenges will be how to efficiently transport, distribute, and store hydrogen.”

H2 Clipper aims to build a prototype in 2024 and a full-sized version in 2027, which would use fuel cells and electric engines to travel at speeds of more than 175 miles per hour (280km/h), travelling distances of 6,000-plus miles (9,656+ km) in a single non-stop journey while transporting up to 150 tonnes of hydrogen.

Dassault says companies including H2 Clipper were selected for its accelerator programme by “demonstrating significant technological breakthroughs with the greatest potential to positively impact and transform society in alignment with one or more [UN] Sustainable Development Goals”.

“The aerospace and aviation revolution is being driven by breakthroughs in the use of renewable fuels such as hydrogen, as well as advanced material science and engineering,” said Frédéric Vacher, head of innovation at Dassault Systèmes. “We are pleased to support H2 Clipper to accelerate maturing these disruptive technologies to serve humankind.”

Could hydrogen airships return as fast, cheap, green cargo transports?

By Loz Blain

December 14, 2021

Is it time to resurrect hydrogen airships – not to carry passengers, but as fast, cheap and convenient cargo carriers?
H2 Clipper

California startup H2 Clipper wants to bring back hydrogen-filled airships, claiming they can unlock completely green intercontinental cargo operations carrying 8-10 times the payload of any cargo plane over 6,000 miles, at a quarter of the price.

The H2 Clipper would carry payloads up to and beyond 340,000 lb (150,000 kg), says the company, and would offer up to 265,000 cubic feet (7,530 cubic metres) of cargo space. It wouldn't travel as fast as a plane, cruising at about 175 mph (282 km/h), but it would move boxes some 7-10 times faster than a boat (China to the US in 36 hours, for example) and with zero emissions.

Its lift gas would be hydrogen – providing some 8 percent more lift per volume than helium at something around 1/67th the price. Its propulsion would be fully electric, running on liquid hydrogen put through a fuel cell. H2 Clipper says it'd operate efficiently for missions ranging from under 500 miles (804 km) to "well over 6,000 miles (9,656 km)." That would link any two points on the globe with a single fuel top-up. In the current renders, the company shows the top of this huge aircraft covered in photovoltaic cells, which could theoretically enable it to generate its own hydrogen, if it were to carry a water source and an electrolyzer.

With the right provisions put in place, it could take goods right from a factory to a distribution center without needing additional ground transport stages to and from airports, thanks to its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.



Hydrogen's taking off as a clean aviation fuel. Will it return for use as a lift gas?
H2 Clipper

H2 Clipper says the economics will be attractive as well, estimating costs between US$0.177 to $0.247 per ton-mile for distances between 1,000-6000 miles. It says this is a quarter of the price of today's air transport. Certainly, it'll still be more expensive than sending things on a container ship, but it does potentially cut out additional logistics challenges at either end – and the shipping sector's emissions issues could well see it slapped with carbon taxes as the race to zero carbon by 2050 develops globally.

On the surface, it all looks to work pretty neatly. Of course, there's a large elephant in the room here, or at least a huge manatee: hydrogen, along with any other flammable substance, is currently prohibited as a lift gas in the United States and Europe, due to some high-profile dirigible disasters in the early 1900s, burned into the public consciousness by newsreels of the Hindenburg conflagration in 1937 that killed 35 of the 97 people on board.


But it's possible that all is not as it seems in this regard – and indeed there are several groups beginning to call foul on what they see is an unfair perception and legal treatment of hydrogen airships that could be holding back a valuable technology.

The H2Clipper would cruise at about 10,000 feet, lifted and propelled by green hydrogen
H2 Clipper

The argument is well put in this recent piece by Eli Dourado, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University. We'll bullet-point it here for you:

Hydrogen was initially banned as a lift gas in US military aircraft in 1922, after a rather theatrical exploding-balloon demonstration before Congress by a representative from the Bureau of Mines, which had found itself sitting on large helium reserves. In his 1969 book about the early days of the helium industry, Mines employee Clifford Stebel admits that the hydrogen should not have exploded in this scenario, and hints that he tampered with it: "Later, with a twinkle in his eye, Moore accused me of adding some air to the red balloon to create an explosive mixture—something I never admitted."
The aviation business as a whole was in an embryonic phase in the early 1900s, and most modes of flight had less-than-stellar safety records, which have subsequently been addressed with rigorous standards and new technologies. Hydrogen airships should be afforded the same opportunity.
Banning flammable substances from use generating aerostatic lift, but allowing them for use generating forward thrust, is absurd. Flammable fuel leaks have caused numerous aviation disasters without these substances being banned wholesale.
The current FAA prohibition on hydrogen lift gas is only a guidance, and nearly every aircraft that goes through certification does so after negotiating a series of waivers and special conditions.

The full piece makes interesting reading. H2 Clipper, for its part, chips in to point out that extensive testing in the automotive industry has proven that hydrogen tanks can be shot with 50-caliber rifles, and hydrogen escaping into the air can be ignited with naked flames without causing explosions.

"With modern engineering standards," writes Dourado, "there is no doubt that hydrogen could be made a safe lifting gas." But, he points out, the only way to find out for sure would be to develop and certify a next-generation hydrogen airship, and this would require millions in investment, against the possible risk that the program might be shut down by regulations.

Range figures of 6,000 miles and beyond would deliver reasonably quick intercontinental shipping with zero emissions
H2 Clipper


It's a tough ask for investors, although a new class of investor might have the stomach to throw down. Green hydrogen projects are taking off at an extraordinary rate as countries and companies alike wrestle with the hurdles and opportunities of decarbonization. The investors behind these have plenty of skin in the game already, and an incentive not just to develop potential markets for their hydrogen, but to rehabilitate its image.

H2 Clipper's hydrogen cargo airships might be just the ticket. They present minimal risk to human life – they'll initially be piloted, but could eventually become completely autonomous. They present a useful middle ground in the transport logistics puzzle – cheaper than planes, faster than ships, virtually unlimited range and excellent operational flexibility. And there's currently no alternative if you want to cover serious distances without creating carbon dioxide emissions.

These airships could be immediately useful to the hydrogen industry, too; H2 Clipper says that if you're looking to export liquid hydrogen internationally, as many countries are hoping to do in bulk, its airships will beat rail, trucks, ships and even pipelines on price over distances greater than 1,000 miles – while delivering the H2 quickly to just about anywhere on Earth.

H2 Clipper Founder and CEO Rinaldo Brutoco presented at the 2nd International Hydrogen in Aviation Conference, held in Glasgow this September, saying that the company would commence drawings for a sub-scale prototype in 2022, hoping to fly it in 2024. Stretch goals include getting a dirigible into operation by 2026, and having 100 of them out there hauling cargo by the early 2030s.

It's a fascinating idea with some obvious hurdles to overcome. We'll be keeping an eye on the company's progress!

Source: H2 Clipper

Could Zeppelins Be The Answer To Hydrogen Transportation?

by Linnea Ahlgren
December 15, 2021

One of the main challenges for the future of hydrogen as a fuel source for air travel is infrastructure. Be that for hydrogen-electric or propulsion architecture relying on liquid H2, the puzzle of transporting the gas safely to airports to fuel aircraft (another matter) needs to be solved. One company believes it is on the way – with a good old-fashioned dirigible. However, the inventors of the H2 Clipper say it is nothing like the airships of old.

Will hydrogen-powered airships be the solution to hydrogen transportation?

 Photo: H2 Clipper

Linking production and application

The H2 Clipper is an airship designed to transport pure hydrogen from where it is cheapest to produce to markets where it is needed to support green power projects. The dirigible itself will also be powered by green hydrogen to offer a carbon-free form of transportation and produce zero CO2 emissions.

The company behind the airship says that it will enable shipments of hydrogen and other cargo that will be seven to ten times faster than other modes of transport at a price that will be 70% lower than that of conventional airfreight.

It also attests that the H2 Clipper is uniquely suited to addressing the needs of an emerging hydrogen economy, providing a cost-efficient and dynamically scaleable approach to transporting the gas as demand grows over the following decades. It has trademarked it the ‘Pipeline in the Sky’.

“…(It) is able to scale up through making additional daily trips until the recurring volume of hydrogen being transported justifies investing in the fixed cost of a pipeline or establishing a dedicated supertanker route, at which time the H2 Clipper can simply shift its services to another emerging production site and/or destination,” the people behind the ’21st-century airship’ say.

The H2 Clipper will travel much faster than older airships. 

Photo: Getty Images

In the sky by 2027 with the help of Dassault

The H2 Clipper will use hydrogen fuel cells coupled with electric engines to enable it to fly distances of over 6,000 miles at a speed of 175 miles per hour. It will have a lift capacity of 150 metric tons and a cargo area of 7,500 cubic meters. A detailed design and a prototype are scheduled for 2024. The target for having a fully-fledged airship in the sky has been set for 2027.

To support it in this endeavor, the H2 Clipper company has been selected for inclusion in the Dassault Systémes 3DExperience Lab innovation program. The program focuses on companies that envision a better and more sustainable way of life in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Projects include whale-safe fishing, detecting neurological pathologies through brain-wave devices, geoponic farming, and mobile charging devices for electric vehicles.

“The aerospace and aviation revolution is being driven by breakthroughs in the use of renewable fuels such as hydrogen, as well as advanced material science and engineering. We are pleased to support H2 Clipper to accelerate maturing these disruptive technologies to serve humankind,” said Frédéric Vacher, Head of Innovation at Dassault Systèmes.

Hydrogen-powered zeppelins have to contend with one of the most potent negative public images in history. Photo: Getty Images

The public image legacy to overcome

Of course, airships and hydrogen have history. Say ‘zeppelin,’ and most people’s minds immediately conjure up images of the Hindenburg spectacularly going down in a sea of flames. The 1937 disaster essentially marked an end to the hydrogen-powered passenger-transporting dirigible era. Its powerful imagery aftermath will be a major obstacle to overcome in convincing the public that flying on hydrogen is safe. Perhaps a few years of high-speed zeppelins moving to and fro will contribute to shifting the general perception.


Linnea Ahlgren
Lead Sustainability Journalist - With a Masters in International Relations, Linnea has combined her love for current affairs with her passion for travel to become a key member of the Simple Flying team. With eight years’ experience in publishing and citations in publications such as CNN, Linnea brings a deep understanding of politics and future aviation tech to her stories. Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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FlyZero concept promises carbon-free flights

A concept aircraft unveiled by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) could provide the blueprint for long-haul passenger flights using liquid hydrogen as fuel.

FlyZero midsize aircraft concept at airport (Image: ATI)

13th December 2021

According to ATI, up to 279 passengers could fly between London and San Francisco, USA direct or Auckland, New Zealand with one stop with the same speed and comfort as current aircraft.

Developed by a team collaborating on the FlyZero project, the concept shows the potential of green liquid hydrogen for air travel as it is a lightweight fuel with three times the energy of kerosene and sixty times the energy of batteries per kilogramme. Furthermore, no CO2 is produced when hydrogen is burned.

In a statement, FlyZero project director Chris Gear said: “At a time of global focus on tackling climate change our midsize concept sets out a truly revolutionary vision for the future of global air travel keeping families, businesses and nations connected without the carbon footprint.

“This new dawn for aviation brings with it real opportunities for the UK aerospace sector to secure market share, highly skilled jobs and inward investment while helping to meet the UK’s commitments to fight climate change.”

Through the development of concept aircraft FlyZero has identified the on-board technologies which, along with the infrastructure and ground equipment for refuelling, require rapid development to deliver zero-carbon emission flight. These advanced technologies include wings without fuel tanks (dry wings), hydrogen tanks, cryogenic fuel systems, fuel cells and electrical power systems and hydrogen gas turbines.

In early 2022, detailed findings from the FlyZero project will be published including three final aircraft concepts (regional, narrowbody and midsize), technology roadmaps, market and economic reports and a sustainability assessment.

“These designs could define the future of aerospace and aviation,” said Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. “By working with industry, we are showing that truly carbon free flight could be possible, with hydrogen a front runner to replace conventional fossil fuels.

“Fuelling planes sustainably will enable the public to travel as we do now, but in a way that doesn’t damage the planet. It will not only help us to end our contribution to climate change, but also represents a huge industrial opportunity for the UK.”

ATI said that with a range of 5250NM, destinations including San Francisco (4664NM), Delhi (3642NM), Beijing (4414NM), Vancouver (4105NM), Mexico City (4815NM) and Rio De Janeiro (4983NM) are within reach from London. Destinations including Auckland (9911NM), Sydney (9188NM) and Honolulu (6289NM) are in reach with just one stop.

Powered by liquid hydrogen, the fuel is stored in cryogenic fuel tanks at around minus 250oC degrees Celsius in the aft fuselage and two smaller ‘cheek’ tanks along the forward fuselage, which will keep the aircraft balanced as the fuel burns off and eliminate the need for any additional aerodynamic structures.

The aircraft’s 54-metre wingspan will carry two turbofan engines powered by hydrogen combustion.

United takes next step toward commercial hydrogen flight

15th December 2021

US airline company United Airlines has taken an equity stake in UK based hydrogen-electric aviation specialist ZeroAvia.

The deal – part of United’s push to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – makes it the largest airliner to invest in hydrogen-electric engines for regional aircraft.

Photo taken ahead of ZeroAvia’s maiden hydrogen electric flight in September 2020. Image: Zero Avia

United expects to buy up to 100 of the ZeroAvia’s ZA2000-RJ hydrogen-electric engines which could be retrofitted to existing aircraft as early as 2028. According to a company statement one potential use is on its CRJ-550, 50-seater aircraft.

Hydrogen-electric engines use electricity created by a chemical reaction in a fuel cell to power an electric motor instead of burning fossil fuel. Because no fuel is burned, there are no climate-harming emissions or carbon released into the atmosphere when the engines are operated.

The ZA2000-RJ is expected to be used in pairs as a new power source for existing regional aircraft. Under the agreement with United Airlines Ventures, United will pursue a conditional purchase agreement for 50 ZeroAvia ZA2000-RJ engines, with an option for 50 more, enough for up to 50 twin-engine aircraft which would be operated by United Express partners once they are fully developed and certified by regulators as soon as 2028.

“Hydrogen-electric engines are one of the most promising paths to zero-emission air travel for smaller aircraft, and this investment will keep United out in front on this important emerging technology,” said United CEO Scott Kirby.

Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO and of ZeroAvia said: ““This support by United, alongside our other forward-thinking partners, demonstrates the importance of hydrogen-electric propulsion in the future of sustainable flight. The United Express routes powered by hydrogen-electric aircraft will be enabling large numbers of passengers to take zero-emission flights well within this decade.”

ZeroAvia is accelerating development of its ZA2000 engine and will soon begin ground tests of its ZA600 in a 19-seat aircraft, with the aim of entering commercial service with this smaller engine by 2024. ZeroAvia’s roadmap calls for it to develop hydrogen-electric propulsion for progressively larger aircraft.

The company completed the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft in September 2020 from its R&D base at Cranfield airport in the UK.

In a separate development, ZeroAvia and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited today (December 15 2021) announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a line-fit and retrofit program for De Havilland Canada’s aircraft using hydrogen-electric propulsion in new and in-service aircraft.

As part of the MOU, De Havilland Canada will be issued options to purchase 50 ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric engines. These options will be confirmed once a definitive agreement has been completed between De Havilland Canada and ZeroAvia.

As part of the program, ZeroAvia will develop a flight demonstrator, with De Havilland Canada’s support, using a Dash 8-400 aircraft to aid certification and showcase the operational and commercial potential of the 2MW+ powertrain (ZA2000) engine.

Some Northern residents vow to oppose federal regulations to release treated oilsands tailings water

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'We're not going to sit back and allow this to happen,' says

 Smith's Landing First Nation chief

Avery Zingel · CBC News · Posted: Dec 15, 2021 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Oil goes into a tailings pond at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray, Alta., in September 2014. The federal government is now working toward setting standards for releasing treated tailings water back into the environment. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

Northerners say the federal government's plan to regulate the release of treated oilsands tailings water will be met with opposition by communities downstream. 

As the N.W.T. Environment minister gears up for a diplomatic approach with Alberta and Canada, Dene leaders like Smith's Landing First Nation Chief Gerry Cheezie are prepared to take legal action with Dene Nation, and to bring their opposition to the release of tailings water all the way to Ottawa.

"It's unthinkable. It's a human rights issue … along with being environmental racism," said Cheezie, who argues that releasing water from tailings, the byproduct of the extraction process used to remove the oil from the sand and clay, violates treaty rights to access lands and waters. 

"I can't believe the Government of Canada is willing to release this toxic sludge on our river and on our people," he said. "We're not going to sit back and allow this to happen."

Gerry Cheezie, chief of Smith Landing First Nation, argues the government's plan to release tailings violates treaty rights to access lands and waters. He called it a human rights issue and said it amounted to 'environmental racism.' (CBC)

A working group for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada has been developing standards for releasing treated tailings water since the beginning of 2021. The draft regulations under the Fisheries Act are slated for 2024, with final regulations by 2025.

Researchers are working to develop methods that affordably treat tailings without raising emissions in the process. 

CBC reached out to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada, but the ministry did not provide a statement by publication time.

The release of oilsands tailings water to surface water is currently prohibited. Some experts argue that discharging treated water would be safer than allowing the tailings to accumulate, where they could accidentally be released in the event of a flood or other natural disaster.

WATCH | One way of treating oilsands waste water is using a carbon filter like your Brita:

John Brogly is the water director for Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). In 2020, there were 57 active research projects through COSIA at a cost of $150 million and an additional 86 projects focused on water. 4:52

The ponds where the tailings are stored contain an estimated 1.4 trillion litres of tailings that have been deposited in the boreal forest since bitumen mining began in the 1960s. 

That's enough to fill 560,000 Olympic swimming pools. If those pools were lined up end to end, they would extend 28,000 kilometres, roughly the distance from Yellowknife to the tip of Argentina — and back. 

Cheezie said next year, Dene Nation will meet and mount an education campaign about the impact tailings water release would have on the North. 

• Banned for decades, releasing oilsands tailings water is now on the horizon

• NAFTA body calls for investigation into oilsands tailings enforcement

"We're totally opposed to treatment and release of tailings ponds into the Athabasca because eventually it will flow into the Great Slave and eventually end up in the Mackenzie River and ultimately end up in the Arctic Ocean. Most of our communities are along this river system."

Cheezie said the N.W.T. government should "take a stand" and not "hide" behind the transboundary water agreement with Alberta, which requires the province to inform the N.W.T. about changes that will affect the territory's waters.

He said that agreement has "no teeth" and is not protecting the North from pollutants. 

Legal action a last resort: N.W.T. environment minister

N.W.T. Environment Minister Shane Thompson said the territory's deputy minister is emailing back and forth with Alberta's deputy minister, a line of communication that is open because of the transboundary water agreement. 

According to a guidebook, the agreement, signed in 2015, is based on a commitment to maintain the shared waters and ecosystems of the Mackenzie River Basin and requires governments to notify each other of any development or activity, such as regulatory changes, that could affect shared water management. 

• N.W.T. ignored in Alberta monitoring suspension despite agreement: leaked emails

• Suspending water quality monitoring during pandemic a 'serious oversight,' says expert

• Alberta, Ottawa reduce oilsands environmental monitoring budget due to pandemic

"I have to believe in the system that we're going to have communications with the federal minister, the Alberta minister to work it out," Thompson said, noting that N.W.T. officials will meet with Alberta's office of the chief scientist in January.

He said sharing scientific information with Indigenous governments will form part of the territory's response. When the N.W.T. meets with its climate change council and Indigenous leadership, they will add water management to the agenda.

While he personally opposes the release of treated tailings water, the minister said he'll prioritize the science and put his faith in the transboundary water agreement. 

N.W.T. Environment Minister Shane Thompson said that while he personally opposes the release of treated tailings, he'll prioritize the science and put his faith in conversations resulting from transboundary water agreement between Alberta and the territory. (Mario De Ciccio/Radio-Canada)

Thompson said considering legal action at this point is "too negative" and would be a last resort. He said Alberta honoured the agreement in 2020 during the Fort McMurray floods when the province warned the N.W.T. in a timely manner. 

"They didn't wait a week. They didn't wait a month. It was within hours of water going over the top … they were already reaching out to us."

He said that notification shows the benefits of the agreement, which is "unheard of in other jurisdictions."

According to Thompson, N.W.T. government officials want to meet with federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Alberta's environment minister in 2022. 

N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane is headed to Ottawa this week. Cheezie said his hope is that she brings up this issue with the prime minister, "because it's going to destroy our people and our river."

A spokesperson for the premier wrote in an emailed that there is "no plan" to do so.

"We have heard the concerns of Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, and residents across the N.W.T., and we share these concerns" and the territory is waiting to receive more information before making a decision, the statement reads. 

'We're the toilet bowl of Fort Mac'

At the edge of oilsands development, Alice Rigney, a Dene elder in Fort Chipewyan, has toured Suncor's reclamation lakes, including a pond along the Athabasca River. 

While the ponds may "look appealing," she remains sceptical of those who say the tailings water can be released safely, because she says communities downstream already face health impacts.

Alice Rigney, an elder from Athabasca Chipewyan Nation, said the news that regulations are being developed to release treated tailings comes as no surprise, and that the land and water has already been radically changed by the effects of development upstream. (David Thurton/CBC News)

"The feds and the province say that it's OK, but we live downstream … all the people along the Mackenzie right to the Arctic Ocean. We're the toilet bowl of Fort Mac and if they lived here, I'm sure they would see it differently," she said. 

"We have our experts — the land users, the people who are affected at this end and all the way up to the Mackenzie."

Rigney says water levels have dropped, the whitefish are gone, the commercial fishery is closed and there are no muskrats or berries to be found.

"Jackfish Lake used to be our pantry — we could fish and hunt, pick berries, my mom and dad used to move out there and there were thousands of fish for dry fish," a traditional method of preserving fish to eat later. 

Rigney said even drinking water from the Athabasca River and inland streams is no longer acceptable and some lakes are drained.

• Doctor who raised concerns about cancer rates downstream from oilsands wins whistleblower award

She said the work to regulate the release of tailings water is "obviously made by people who can look at it from a distance in their Calgary office" and that no government should support industry's request to release treated tailings water. 

"As Dene Indigenous people we are Earth watchers. I wanna leave this world knowing I did what I could for my grandson, for those yet to come. To protect the land and only take what you need," Rigney said.

"I'm not gonna move. I defend my home."