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October 2020

 

The Need for the Fuel Matrix System (FMS) - Summary

 

1     Effects of the Pandemic on Aviation

  • Before the pandemic there had been multiple airline failures; these were attributed to fuel costs and carbon taxes.

  • Therefore, airlines already had a critical need to reduce fuel usage and CO2 emissions, to enhance their financial and environmental sustainability.

  • Further airline closures and takeovers have followed, and more are in sight.

  • Competition will become more intense than ever as the few well-funded, or Government-supported, carriers pursue slots, routes, and market share.

  • As a result of the pandemic the need to enhance financial and environmental sustainability is now vital to airlines’ very survival.

 

2     Operating Requirements in the Recovery

  • The search for these efficiencies must start with ensuring accuracy in the amount of fuel to be loaded onto an aircraft before a flight.

  • This is a critical pre-cursor to the legacy meaning of ‘fuel efficiency’, which is how the pilot operates the aircraft once it and a fuel load are airborne.

  • Accurate fuel uplift enhances the effectiveness of improved flying techniques.

  • Carbon offset schemes are not an answer; they merely relocate the problem.

  • It’s necessary to reduce CO2 emissions at source i.e. in the airport & in the air.

 

3     Why is Accuracy in Fuel Uplift so critical?

  • Each tonne of aviation fuel burned emits 3.15 tonnes of CO2.

  • Up to 50% of fuel loaded unnecessarily will burn uselessly because fuel is burned to carry fuel.

  • Fuel tankering, by definition, burns more fuel than is necessary and creates avoidable CO2 emissions.

  • Accuracy in fuel uplift enables carbon footprint reductions at source.

  • Heathrow Airport, for example, has published that aircraft contribute 96% of its carbon footprint.

 

4     The FMS Solutions

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4.1  FMS Fuel Load Optimiser (FLO)

FLO is a patented stand-alone product for use by airlines.

Pilots already have available to them information on late changes to flight metrics. Prior to the formulation of FLO, they were not able to use this information to optimise the quantity of fuel to be uplifted for a flight, in the time available before take-off. As a result, opportunities for optimisation are missed.

In addition, unnecessary extra fuel is commonly loaded, despite contingency plans.

Our patented technology now enables late changes to flight metrics to be taken into account and fuel uplift optimisation to be performed in good time before take-off, while retaining all contingency fuel for safety purposes.

Tests have shown that FLO has the potential to save up to $2bn in fuel costs and up to 10m tonnes of CO2 emissions, per year, across the sector.

Recent developments to FLO in accordance with our Patents will increase these benefits.

FLO is at MVP level and we are negotiating new on-board trials prior to commercial uptake.  It can be operated as a stand-alone product but will later work in conjunction with our next development – Cabin Load Measurement, which is referred to below.

The benefits to airlines available from FLO are additional to those offered by any other product or system.

We also plan to develop big data services for performance monitoring, reporting and benchmarking, for the sector.

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4.2  FMS Cabin Load Measurement (CLM)

Our next product will be CLM, which is a patented system for deployment by airports.

Operational Flight Plans use estimates for the weight of passengers, crew and hand-baggage. CLM will replace estimates with accurate and confidential weight measurement; there are no data protection issues – biometric data is commonly used by airports and airlines.

Using CLM, airports will gather accurate weight information and supply it to airlines as  an additional input to FLO. This will help airlines further optimise the amount of fuel to be loaded.

Airports will also be able to render the passenger journey through the airport smoother and faster without adding friction, because CLM will readily integrate with modern airport systems.

CLM will help airports restrict their carbon footprints by reducing the contribution airlines make to their carbon footprints when landing, taxiing and taking off.  Aircraft contribute more than 50% of the carbon footprint of airports, and as noted above the figure is 96% in the case of Heathrow.

 

5     How to Contact Us

We welcome enquiries from airlines and airports to discuss deployment of FMS via:

                      Roy Fuscone, CEO                              Nick Brasier, COO

E-mail:          roy.fuscone@fuelmatrix.co.uk         nick.brasier@fuelmatrix.co.uk

Mobile:         +44 (0)79 5650 2309                          +44 (0)79 1937 5805

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