Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial assistance they have given to (1) businesses, or (2) academic institutions, in connection with low carbon aviation in the form of (a) grants, (b) loans, (c) guarantees or indemnities, (d) acquisitions of shares or securities, (e) undertakings or assets, or (f) incurring expenditure, for the benefit of the body assisted in the creation of (i) hydrogen fuel cells, (ii) other electric battery technologies, (iii) hydrogen combustion, (iv) synthetic liquid fuels, and (v) biofuels.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government co-invests in mid-stage R&D, with industry, to develop new ultra-efficient and zero-carbon aircraft technologies through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. Since 2013, the ATI Programme has committed R&D grants to 29 industry-led collaborative projects on new forms of propulsion or fuels totalling £194m. Industry will co-invest £178m alongside these grants. The R&D projects cover a range of technologies but are primarily focused on aircraft propulsion systems involving hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, and electric motors and machines. Each project involves a range of collaborators including industry partners, universities and research organisations. Grants through the ATI Programme have also been provided to develop aircraft gas turbine engines, which have included work packages to test synthetic fuels or biofuels. We have not been able to isolate the cost of this element of research within large projects, so have not included it in the figures set out above.
In order to explore the potential for zero-carbon emission flight, the Government also provided a £15m grant to the ATI-led FlyZero project. This in-depth research study, which was completed in March 2022, found green liquid hydrogen offers the greatest potential to power future zero-carbon emission aircraft.
To kickstart a domestic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry, the Government has made £227m available, since 2014, to support the development of advanced fuel plants. This includes investing in 8 SAF plants through the Green Fuels, Green Skies competition and more recently launching the £165m Advanced Fuels Fund. The Government has separately committed £12m to establish a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and certification of new SAF and £1m to run the first-ever passenger aircraft flight powered by 100% SAF, between the UK and the US, through the Net Zero Transatlantic Flight Fund. These investments are coupled with the £400m UK Government partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst into emerging climate technologies, including SAF.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the aviation sector is (a) innovative and (b) sustainable.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government’s vision is for the UK to be a world leader in innovative aviation technology that has a transformative effect on the movement of people and goods. The Government is providing £125m, matched by £175m from industry, of support for Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. The Challenge seeks to support the demonstration in the UK of Unmanned, Advanced Air Mobility and sub-regional electric and hydrogen air services.
The Government is also supporting a variety of innovative technology, fuel and market-based measures to address aviation emissions and ensure that the sector is sustainable and achieves net zero by 2050.
In July 2021, we published the Jet Zero Consultation which sets out our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050, focussing on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel and maximises the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring for the UK. We are carefully considering consultation responses, alongside wider government policy and the very latest technological developments in the development of the final Jet Zero Strategy, which we are aiming to publish later this year.
Over the next three years, we are providing £685m funding to the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme to support the development of new and zero-carbon emission aircraft technology, and £180m funding to accelerate the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants and fuel testing in the UK.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to develop the regulation of (a) trials and (b) use of electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department for Transport recently explored how current legislation relates to new aircraft such as electric vehicle take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) and found that eVTOLs fit within existing broad legislation.
The Department has recently conducted a consultation on the Future of Flight as part of the Future of Transport regulatory review and supports the Civil Aviation Authority to work with innovators to certify eVTOL aircraft and their uses.
The licensing regulations that apply to the trial and use of eVTOLs are retained EU regulations as amended by an increasing amount of UK law, the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the Aircraft Navigation Order 2016 and the Chicago Convention 1944.
The Department for Transport and the CAA, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, are continually working on ensuring the right regulatory environment for any new industry requirements that arise.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what licensing regulations apply to the (a) trial and (b) use of electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department for Transport recently explored how current legislation relates to new aircraft such as electric vehicle take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) and found that eVTOLs fit within existing broad legislation.
The Department has recently conducted a consultation on the Future of Flight as part of the Future of Transport regulatory review and supports the Civil Aviation Authority to work with innovators to certify eVTOL aircraft and their uses.
The licensing regulations that apply to the trial and use of eVTOLs are retained EU regulations as amended by an increasing amount of UK law, the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the Aircraft Navigation Order 2016 and the Chicago Convention 1944.
The Department for Transport and the CAA, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, are continually working on ensuring the right regulatory environment for any new industry requirements that arise.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the support local authorities require to transfer widespread adoption of (1) electric, and (2) hydrogen, vehicles; and what financial assistance they have allocated to local authorities specifically to support this.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Building on the £1.9bn from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620m to support the transition to electric vehicles. This additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local, on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this government to vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5bn.
Our upcoming electric vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will soon be published, which will set out our vision to create a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. Local authorities have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of EV chargepoints to meet the needs of their local communities and areas, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking. We are working closer than ever with local authorities to encourage uptake of central government funding for EV chargepoints and ensure more widespread regional and local action in this space.
The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme is available to all UK local authorities to help provide public chargepoints for their residents. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit. We will also launch our new Local EV Infrastructure Fund (LEVI). Details of how local EV charging will be supported will be announced in due course.
Our bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan sets out how we intend to reduce the UK’s transport emissions and forge a realistic pathway to net-zero by 2050. A key aspect of the plan is setting out the role different technologies like hydrogen fuel cells could play across all areas of transport, including HGVs, buses, rail, shipping and aviation. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan has recently been joined by the (BEIS-led) publication of the UK Hydrogen Strategy, which brings together the UK’s hydrogen story, showcasing activity to-date, and setting out an action plan for the UK’s hydrogen economy moving forward, including in the transport sector.
We are providing over £525 million funding for Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) this Parliament. The Government announced the first areas to be awarded funding from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme fast track in October 2021. A second group of local transport authorities will be submitting proposals to secure funding through the standard process of the scheme. Funding will be awarded to successful areas in Spring 2022. £355 million of new funding was made available for ZEBs at the Spending Review. £150 million of this new funding is for 2021-22 and has been allocated to the ZEBRA scheme, bringing the total funding for ZEBRA to £270m. The remaining funding is available over the Spending Review period.
The Government’s approach to the delivery of the ZEBs is technology neutral. Local areas have been able to apply for funding for both battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses depending on which technology is best suited to their local areas.
As of December 2021, there are fourteen publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK. Future Government support for the deployment of additional hydrogen refuelling infrastructure will be linked to specific research and development programmes, such as our pioneering zero emission road freight trials that will demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell HGVs on UK roads. Our £23 million Hydrogen for Transport Programme (HTP) is increasing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Civil Aviation Authority, (b) delivery companies and (c) other Government Departments on the potential merits of more permanent use of drones for delivery to remote areas of the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.
The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.
The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.
Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on (a) allowing drones to operate beyond line of sight in non-segregated airspace and (b) removing the need for a safety pilot to be physically present at both ends of the journey, so that the flights can be monitored by one person remotely, to support delivery companies to use drones as a more permanent delivery option to serve more remote areas of the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.
The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.
The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.
Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending time periods for drone trials to help delivery companies like Royal Mail to trial drones as a more permanent delivery option throughout the course of a calendar year.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.
The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.
The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.
Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to extend licenses for drones, for example allowing drone operators to fly beyond line of sight in non-segregated airspace, rather than in a time-limited temporary danger area.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.
The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.
The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.
Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on enabling Royal Mail and other delivery companies to use drones to deliver to more remote areas of the UK, such as in the Highlands and Islands.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.
The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.
The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.
Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.