Airship Technology on the Brink: Is Society Prepared for Electrified Skies?

In the ongoing battle against global warming, a new player is emerging on the horizon – airships. These colossal vessels, once synonymous with the past, are now being hailed as a potential solution to reduce carbon emissions and reach remote areas inaccessible to airplanes and helicopters.

One of the key advantages of solar airships lies in their construction. Designed with a rigid frame to withstand winds, they could drastically cut the emissions of cargo transport to as little as one percent compared to a conventional airliner. Solar airships outfitted with thin-film solar cells could operate without combustion-related discharges during flight, making them a cleaner alternative to traditional air travel.

Jet airliners, unfortunately, are notorious for spewing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. These emissions contribute significantly to climate change, and efforts to develop sustainable jet fuels or electrified alternatives have shown promising results but airplanes require too much energy to be truly sustainable.

The single largest market for airships is to ferry goods across oceans. Companies like Prentice's Buoyant Aircraft Systems International, LTA Research, Flying Whales, and Lighter Than Air are at the forefront of this technological revolution. Prentice's company has developed a turntable-style landing system for airships to move with the wind and land in areas with little infrastructure. LTA Research, backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, is preparing for test flights of its Pathfinder 1 rigid airship, while the French start-up Flying Whales is currently testing its 650-foot-long LCA60T dirigible.

Another key company, the US firm Lighter Than Air, is developing a rigid airship over 120 meters long for transport purposes. H2 Clipper Inc. is the only airship company planning to use hydrogen as a lifting gas, aiming to create a green hydrogen delivery service. After a decade of development, Hybrid Air Vehicle in the U.K. is readying production of its Airlander 10 blimp.

However, the airship industry is not without its challenges. The Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg crash in 1937 is often referred to as "Hindenburg Syndrome" in the airship industry. Weather events that were once considered rare are now happening regularly, raising concerns about the safety of these large vessels. To address this, researchers like Pflaum have designed a hexagonal parking construction to anchor a large number of airships in a relatively small area.

The FAA's decision to follow suit could usher in a new age of airships, with LTA Research's Pathfinder 1 being a key contender. The arrival of President Joe Biden's climate bill could provide significant government funding for world-changing, green energy solutions, including airships. Billionaire investors are also getting behind the airship technology, recognising its potential in the fight against climate change.

As scientists, governments, engineers, activists, and others rush to find ways to ditch fossil fuels for green energy, airships offer a promising solution. They can deliver tonnage more sustainably than air cargo, although airships will likely never beat airplanes in terms of pure speed. The melting ice caps, the blinking out of animal species due to climate change, and the increasing frequency of once-in-a-lifetime weather events underscore the urgency of finding sustainable alternatives to traditional transportation methods.

Airships, with their potential to reduce carbon emissions and reach remote areas, could play a crucial role in this fight. The future of air travel may well be taking off, and it's looking up.