“Every drop counts”
Lufthansa wants to polish up the CO2 balance with less paint
07/05/2023 11:24 am
The calculation is simple: Less paint reduces weight, which in turn reduces fuel consumption. Lufthansa therefore wants to improve its CO2 balance with a new painting process. In relation to the 23 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2022, however, the contribution is modest.
With a new painting process, Lufthansa wants to reduce the weight of aircraft and thus reduce CO2 emissions. Machines are regularly repainted, with the new layer of paint being applied to the old one, said Lufthansa Airlines boss Jens Ritter. “In the long run, the airplanes are getting heavier and heavier.” Higher weight means more fuel consumption and leads to more carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The Lufthansa technicians therefore developed a process to chemically remove or sand down the old paint down to the primer before applying the new one. As a result, the weight of a Boeing 747 can be reduced by up to 750 kilograms, and an Airbus A320 can be up to 250 kilograms lighter. The most recent refresh of almost 30 aircraft would have avoided around 1,300 tons of greenhouse gases per year, which corresponds to six flights from Frankfurt to New York and back. In addition, the new paint lasts ten years and not just 7.5 years as before.
In relation to the total of around 23 million tons of CO2 emissions by the Lufthansa Group last year alone, however, this is a tiny contribution to climate protection. For its goal of reducing net CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2019, Lufthansa is relying on less kerosene consumption through new aircraft, the use of sustainable fuels, rail connections instead of feeder flights or an aerodynamic coating of aircraft as major levers based on shark skin. “Every drop counts, every gram counts,” said Ritter. “Because that’s how we reduce CO2 emissions directly, which brings us closer to our goal of flying more sustainably.”