Gabriel Araujo, Tim Hepher

SAO PAULO/PARIS – Monday saw Embraer, Brazil, unveil new concepts to promote environmentally-friendly air travel. This comes as the aviation industry faces increasing pressure to combat global warming.

World’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer unveiled its plans to coincide in Glasgow with the COP26 climate meeting. He called them a “building blocks” toward achieving the aviation industry target of net-zero emission by 2050.

According to environmental groups, the targets are too modest.

Embraer presented four concepts under “Energia”, with varying combinations of technology such as fuel cells and hydrogen power. It also stated that it believes there is a market for around 4,000 aircraft.

These designs consist of a hybrid-electric plane for nine that can reduce carbon emissions by half before 2030, and an all-electric shorter-range version, which would also be available by 2035.

A single pilot could fly both nine-seaters.

A 19-seater, powered by hydrogen-based fuel cell by 2035, and a 35-50 seat plane by 2040 are also on the agenda. These aircraft will be able to fly short distances using hydrogen fuel.

Embraer claimed that their designs, the results of two-years-long work, would fill the gap between the flying-taxi industry’s new eVTOL (flying-taxi industry) and the 50-seat turboprops.

According to the company, small regional aircrafts are more likely than larger narrow-body commercial jetliners to adopt breakthrough technologies such as hydrogen. Experts say these schemes could be a seed for more advanced technology.

Arjan Meijer (chief executive at Embraer Commercial Aviation), told Reuters that it was a sector where there are many opportunities ahead.

Embraer had to stop plans to merge the commercial division with Boeing (NYSE) last year due to the COVID crisis. It said instead that they were open to working together to build the planes.

If they are successful, the concepts would compete in an area that has been historically volatile within the aviation industry.

Rodrigo Silva e Souza, marketing vice president, said that the reorganization of global supply chains as well as a tendency towards remote work would place greater importance on short flights.

Embraer continues to push forward with its plans to develop smaller, eVTOL (electric vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft) through an spin-off named Eve Urban Air Mobility.

Embraer is not alone in facing a wave of new startups that are interested in all-electric flying taxis.

Meijer said that she was not confident in the startups’ performance goals.

Meijer said that Embraer continues to look for industrial or financial partners in order to launch a new turboprop. The possibility of a decision being made early next year has been suggested by Embraer.