The Allplane Podcast #134: electrifying aircraft taxiing, with David Valaer (Green Taxi)
What if the lowest-hanging fruit in aviation decarbonization was not in the air, but waiting right in front of us, on the ground?
This is what David Valaer, founder and CEO of Green Taxi Aerospace thinks.
A pilot since the age of 16, David has spent his whole life surrounded by aircraft, either spending summers a bush pilot in Alaska, flying F-16 fighter jets for the US Air Force or, later on, scaling up and selling a successful helicopter tech company.
A few years ago, David became intrigued by the possibilities that a new generation of electric motors offered to solve one of the issues of everyday commercial aircraft operations: the amount of fuel wasted while taxiing inefficiently through airports.
Did you know that between 2 and 20% of fuel is consumed by airliners while they are on the ground? (in the intro I recorded while researching this episode I said 5-15%, but it may be more in some cases)
This happens because most of the time aircraft use their engines to move while on the tarmac, an incredibly wasteful process which in addition to producing unnecessary carbon emissions, also strains aircraft brakes and exposes the engines to foreign object damage.
What if the taxiing could be done with electric motors instead? Green Taxi is working on a system that, David promises, will be able to cut down drastically the amount of fuel aircraft consumer while taxiing. Airlines could be saving in the region of $250-300k per aircraft per year if this technology is finally implemented, not to speak of the related drop in emissions and wear and tear of equipment.
I was also intrigued by this story, so after speaking with David a few times at industry conferences in the last few months, I thought it was best if he could come onto the podcast to share all the details about this promising new technology that his company is developing.
So, tune in for an interesting chat about what Green Taxi can do for the environment and for the bottom line of airlines! (and also for some fascinating details about David’s earlier adventures in aviation!)
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Things we talk about in this episode
David’s background: early start in aviation, salmon-spotting flights, flying fighter jets for the US Air Force, entrepreneurship
How David got interested in the electrification of aircraft taxiing
Earlier attempts to electrify taxiing
Founding Green Taxi Aerospace
Potential economic and environmental benefits
How does Green Taxi’s technology work
What are the perspectives for certification and entry into service
Green Taxi’s road to market and next milestones
Resources
Cessna 195, the light aircraft David used to fly
The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska that put an end to David’s salmon-spotting flights
The Iowa National Air Guard, where David served flying A-7D attack aircraft and F-16C fighter jets
The Beechcraft Bonanza, another of the aircraft David used to fly
Simplex Aerospace, the company David acquired, grew 10x and sold
The initial Safran-Honeywell electric taxiing experiment
The $5.6M grant Green Taxi received from the FAA under the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program
The SAF Futures conference David refers to
A thorough article by (my former colleague) Joanna Bailey about Green Taxi’s technology
Foreign Object Damage (F.O.D.)
The Embraer E175 and the CRJ, two candidates to be the first aircraft to have Green Taxi’s tech fitted
The podcast episode we did with Amelia DeLuca, Delta Air Lines Chief Sustainability Officer
Standard Aero, the MRO company Green Taxi is partnering with
This is how Green Taxi’s system would look like when in place:
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript:
(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
