Joby Aviation, JetBlue and Signature Plan to Achieve Net-Zero Aviation Emissions

Joby Aviation, JetBlue Airways and Signature Flight Support have announced a plan to utilize electric and hydrogen credits in an effort to achieve net zero aviation emissions. The three companies are working together to ensure the carbon markets for aviation include the generation of credits for flights powered by green electric and hydrogen propulsion technologies, effectively connecting today’s airlines and operators to the development of sustainable solutions.

Joby’s all-electric prototype aircraft soars above the company’s Electric Flight Base in central California. Credit // Joby Aviation

Joby is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft that will quietly transport a pilot and four passengers up to 150 miles while producing zero operating emissions. The company’s aerial ridesharing service, which Joby intends to launch in 2024, will enable revolutionary ways for people to move in and around cities while reducing ground traffic congestion and carbon emissions.

Together, the three partners will work to define the framework for the creation, validation and eventual use of these new credits on aviation carbon markets, including identifying a third party to oversee and validate transactions. The companies expect to confirm further details of the structure later this year.

Sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), fuel efficiencies, and out-of-sector investments are the best solutions available today for environmentally-conscious airlines and operators to reduce and offset their emissions. The three companies recognize that operations using electric and hydrogen propulsion technologies are in their nascent stages, but in the near term these operations will begin to reduce emissions in the short-haul category on a per-seat-mile basis.

In 2020, JetBlue became the first U.S. airline to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its domestic flights through the purchase of carbon offsets from solar, wind and forestry projects all across the globe. Meanwhile, Signature set ambitious carbon reduction targets and was one of the world’s largest purchasers of SAF. The company has invested heavily in eco-friendly facility design, construction, and operations in the last five years.

Related: Joby Aviation Announces Infrastructure Partnership With Largest Mobility Hub Operator in North America

Why it’s important: This initiative toward net-zero emissions will incentivize the rapid commercialization of clean propulsion systems in the aviation industry, and is likely to set a precedent for similar efforts in the upcoming years as aviation progresses to greener practices. Electric and hydrogen propulsion technologies will play an increasingly critical role in further driving down the sector’s emissions and the establishment of carbon credits generated by green aviation will create a powerful economic incentive that accelerates the industry’s transition beyond fossil fuels. Read more about the importance of creating a market for electric aviation credits in Joby Aviation’s latest press release.