SpaceNews.com
• Debra Werner
Spanish startup Kreios Space will demonstrate its air-breathing electric propulsion system in Very Low Earth Orbit aboard a microsatellite bus supplied by Kongsberg NanoAvionics. The mission targets the atmospheric-drag challenge that limits sustained VLEO operations and is planned as the first in-orbit demonstration of the technology.
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A Brazilian company backed by Mubadala Capital plans to invest $3 billion in producing sustainable aviation fuel from macauba fruit, harvested from palm trees. The proposed project links an emerging biofuel feedstock to large-scale SAF ambitions in Brazil and could expand the sector’s alternative supply base.
Japan Airlines has joined Hitachi and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in Japan’s first pilot test of technology designed to remove carbon dioxide directly from seawater. The initiative brings an airline together with industrial and maritime partners to evaluate a potential ocean-based carbon-removal pathway for aviation’s decarbonization efforts.
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Spanish startup Kreios Space will demonstrate its air-breathing electric propulsion system in Very Low Earth Orbit aboard a microsatellite bus supplied by Kongsberg NanoAvionics. The mission targets the atmospheric-drag challenge that limits sustained VLEO operations and is planned as the first in-orbit demonstration of the technology.
A government-funded consortium is preparing trials of electric aircraft in Scotland, targeting improved connections for remote communities across the Highlands and Islands. The program builds on £31.5 million in UK Department for Transport funding secured by the Bristow-led Scottish Electric Aviation Network.
The FAA has finalized its plan to eliminate 100LL avgas by 2030, but has not resolved which replacement fuel will be selected, how costs will be distributed, what aircraft modifications may be required or when operators must transition. The decisions will shape general aviation’s fuel and fleet planning.
A Gates-founded firm is backing a startup developing lower-carbon jet fuel produced from hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The investment targets a potentially cheaper pathway to produce clean aviation fuel by converting hydrogen and CO2 into jet-range hydrocarbons, aiming to scale decarbonized fuel supply.
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Critics say the European Commission’s plan to apply the EU ETS to flights between Europe and nearby non-EU countries starting in 2029 is “extraterritorial.” Opposition groups are rallying behind CORSIA instead, arguing the approach conflicts with existing global frameworks for emissions management.
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Heart Aerospace is preparing its first test flight of the full-scale X1 all-electric demonstrator, targeting a hybrid-electric ES-30 entry into service by 2031. ZeAero is launching the hydrogen-powered ZERA-LITE retrofit for Cessna Caravans. Meanwhile, Dovetail Electric Aviation signed a binding customer deal for an electric Caravan conversion, and Air One was unveiled at EAA AirVenture.
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