More and more players in various mobility sectors are committing to 100% emissions-free operations, in addition to releasing new-generation products that are also better for the environment. Embraer, one of the global aviation leaders, has taken an important step in that direction.
Last year, Embraer announced its goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2040 and switching to 100% renewable energy by 2025 in Brazil and by 2030 for its global operations. But the aircraft manufacturer has managed to bring forward part of that goal from 2025 to 2024. That’s because it has already closed the deal for acquiring electricity obtained from renewable sources.
Based on this recent purchase agreement, all the electricity acquired by the company in Brazil will be obtained from solar and wind power sources starting in 2024. The result will be a significant reduction of its carbon emissions, on the way to becoming entirely carbon-neutral. Plus, the other benefit will be the additional support for the renewable energy market. Last year, Embraer consumed a total of 170,000 MWh, with more than half of it in Brazil.
This is a major step in Embraer’s commitment to the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices, which basically represent a form of sustainable and socially-responsible investing.
Using solar and wind sources to power its operations goes hand in hand with the manufacturer’s plans for its new-generation aircraft. Towards the end of last year, Embraer introduced the Energia family of aircraft using sustainable propulsion technology.
The E9-HE will be a hybrid-electric nine-seater that will also be compatible with 100% SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) and capable of covering 500 nautical miles (575 miles/ 926 km). The E9-FE will be a fully-electric nine-seater with a smaller range. These two are set to be ready by the end of the decade.
The Energia family also includes a hydrogen fuel cell small aircraft (the E19-H2FC) and a 50-passenger aircraft with a gas turbine (E50-H2GT) meant to use both hydrogen and SAF. But these ambitious concepts will take much longer to turn into reality.