We’re back baby!
A Positive Climate is kicking off season four and we’re aiming bigger than ever. Over the months ahead, we are looking at ways local startups are turning the world's biggest challenge into Australia's great opportunity.
We will introduce you to some of the local legends doing brilliant work to preserve a healthy, livable climate. Using clever ideas, cutting edge technology and a touch of brilliance, these innovators are improving the way we live, travel and even eat.
Flying Carbon Free
We’re starting the season with a deep dive into the thorny issue of aviation emissions. For those of us in Australia, there are few alternatives if we want to move between capital cities or travel abroad.
But unlike our homes, cars and other sectors, electric aviation isn’t ready for takeoff just yet. Despite a number of innovative Australian aircraft startups making promising strides - using everything from batteries to hydrogen to synthetic fuels - the range and cost remains a barrier in an industry so focused on the bottom line.
So what can be done today to tackle a source of transport emissions that is growing faster than road, rail or shipping?
Sydney’s MicroTau believes that efficiency is key. Inspired by nature, they have produced a synthetic shark skin that helps planes to slip through the air, achieving drag reductions of seven per cent in Lockheed Martin’s wind tunnel.
That translates to big efficiency improvements, given aircraft burn most of their fuel overcoming drag.
They predict that their product today could reduce commercial aviation emissions by four per cent if deployed widely, but they are aiming to improve their designs and achieve ten per cent savings - equivalent to $20 billion worth of fuel and 100 million tonnes of carbon per year.
They are also putting the shark skin back in its natural habitat, developing a marine product for ship hulls that they predict could deliver even larger efficiency gains.
The original research into shark skin technology was undertaken by NASA, which explored the potential of replicating the small ‘riblets’ that help sharks to travel effortlessly through water, and how they could be produced using the manufacturing methods available at the time.
MicroTau has built on these findings, developing a product that looks like a clear plastic film, but is made up of microscopic plates which help to reduce friction between the air and plane. Their application method ‘grows’ the tiny riblets in place using aviation coating and UV light.
MicroTau's CEO and founder Henry Bilinsky told us that he is focused on making major inroads on aviation emissions in the short term, while others work on the longer term challenge of sustainable propulsion systems.
“You can never eliminate the drag problem, but if you can address it and reduce it you can help improve things sooner. That’s really what we want to try and do, to be a piece of the solution in the near term, as opposed to say 10 or 20 years before these alternative power sources can get to aviation,” he said.
The system has been proven on small aircraft, including those that compete in the Red Bull Air Race, and MicroTau is ready for testing on larger commercial aircraft.
Bold beginning
MicroTau was born out of a 2015 US Air Force Research Laboratory competition, which was seeking ways to reduce their $8 billion annual fuel bill.
Henry’s entry won one of ten cash prizes and an opportunity to pitch to industry heavyweights at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; the original testing ground for the Wright brothers experimental flights.
His idea grew into a contract to produce the synthetic shark skin coating and work with some of the biggest players in aviation.
Eight years on, MicroTau employs 21 people and has raised $5.6 million, including backing from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), ACTAI Ventures and Bandera Capital.
The success of the product has inspired Henry and his team to look at other ways nature is solving complex challenges. He cites opportunities to imitate geckos' grippy feet, desert beetles that can harvest water from the air and the remarkable self-cleaning abilities of lotus leaves.
“We need to focus on doing one thing right first and we are getting very loud signals that aviation and shipping don’t have many ways out, they are very hard to abate industries,” he said.
“But ultimately we want to solve all of these problems… we want to be the 3M of nature surfaces, where we can develop all these new products and designs, leverage that great research and development nature has done for us, and have a whole suite of products into the future.”
Stay up to date
Find out more about MicroTau by listening to our interview with Henry Bilinsky below and subscribe to A Positive Climate wherever you listen to podcasts.
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