At the CUR8 Carbon Removal Summit, British Airways laid out what might be the most concrete airline carbon removal strategy we’ve seen to date. The numbers are striking: BA anticipates needing 5-10 million tonnes of carbon removals annually by 2050, representing one-third to half of the airline’s entire net-zero target.
That’s not a hedge — it’s an admission that efficiency gains and sustainable aviation fuel alone won’t get aviation to net zero. Removals aren’t the cherry on top; they’re a structural pillar.
The Portfolio
BA’s current removal portfolio is 60% UK-focused, which makes strategic sense for a British flag carrier but raises questions about diversification and scalability. The UK has limited geological storage compared to, say, Norway or Iceland, so this geographic concentration will need to shift as volumes scale.
Whiskey and Carbon: An Unlikely Pairing
The most interesting project mentioned involves Carbon Removers, who capture CO₂ from whiskey distillery fermentation — achieving 97% purity. That CO₂ then gets channeled into construction materials or potentially into sustainable aviation fuel production.
It’s a clever approach: distillation produces a concentrated, high-purity CO₂ stream that’s far cheaper to capture than dilute atmospheric CO₂. The biogenic carbon was recently absorbed by the barley, making this a form of bioenergy with carbon capture. Whether it counts as “removal” depends on your accounting framework, but the economics are compelling.
What It Means for the CDR Market
When a major airline commits to multi-million-tonne annual procurement, it signals serious demand. The CDR market has been waiting for large corporate offtakers to provide the demand signal that would justify scaling supply. Aviation, with its hard-to-abate emissions profile, might be the sector that finally delivers it.
The full fireside chat from CUR8’s summit is worth watching — it’s one of the more candid discussions of how airlines are actually thinking about removals, beyond the usual sustainability report platitudes.