On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called for the federal government to triple its investment into sustainable aviation technology, saying the increase in funding would make air travel cleaner, cheaper and quieter.
During a hearing on innovative and sustainable aviation technologies, Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the federal government should increase funding for the development of next-generation commercial airplanes that cut carbon emissions, reduce noise, and lower fuel costs in the next FAA reauthorization legislation.
“This is about winning a competitive race for the future,” Cantwell said. “Achieving net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, a target shared by industry and the Federal government, will require shifts in commercial aircraft development and different fuel sources.”
Cantwell said Congress should be increasing funding to the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) Program designed to accelerate the development of new aircraft and engine technologies.
“The FAA Continuous Low Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program will save 36 billion gallons of fuel by 2050, with savings [of] about $90 billion for airlines,” she said. “These emission cuts are equal to removing 3 million cars from the road between 2020 and 2050. We should triple funding, in my opinion, for CLEEN for its next phase of focusing on zero-emission aircraft innovation.”
Committee members heard from Robert Pearce, Associate Administrator of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, as well as Arjan Hegeman of GE Aerospace, and Dr. Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO of ZeroAvia, which has a location at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.