Michael Nocia is the co-founder and CEO of Pyka, an California-based company that builds autonomous, electric aircraft.
A crew from the California-based company Pyka stands in front of an autonomous electric aircraft after a demonstration flight. The cargo plane can take off on a short runway and carry a 400-pound payload about 200 miles. Some day, Norcia believes planes like this will carry people. Air taxis will not reduce aviation emissions because they are not designed to replace airplanes, says Jayant Mukhopadhaya, a senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation.
“More than likely if you’ve flown this year, there’s been a small percentage already on your flight,” Andrew Chen of the Rocky Mountain InstituteSAF is jet fuel made from waste, not fossil fuels, and it burns about 80% cleaner than the traditional blend of gasoline and kerosene in most plane engines. As a “drop-in” fuel, it can be used by any commercial plane or airport in the world, Chen says.
“I think it’s important to our customers, I think it’s important to our company, especially for our community here,” she says, standing in an emerald green blazer under the wing of a refueling 737 Max 9. “When people want to pick an airline I think they’re going to look to somebody who’s going to be climate sensitive."
That marketplace includes airlines like United, but also companies that want to clean up their corporate travel and are willing to pay money to do it. Last year, MicrosoftSustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance announced