In our recent report, we estimated that in 2023, there were 3.57 million private jet flights globally and they produced approximately 18.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—around 2% of total aviation emissions that year. Most of these flights occurred in the United States and Europe and covered distances under 900 km; 46% were operated by small aircraft (up to 9 passengers), 51% by medium-size aircraft (9–19 passengers), and 3% by large aircraft (more than 19 passengers).

Taxing short flights could reduce the frequency of flights on private jets, but the end game for private jet emissions would come from replacing them with zero-emission planes (ZEPs) powered by electricity or hydrogen. However, as I’ll explain here, ZEPs aren’t feasible in the near term and instead there are some other approaches regulators can consider as part of efforts to reduce emissions.

To demonstrate the current potential of using battery-powered planes for private flights, I’ll start by categorizing private jets based on seating capacity, using data from Conklin & De Decker. I then use a battery energy density of 350 Wh/kg to represent the technology available in the near term for the first electric short-haul aircraft, and 500 Wh/kg for future aircraft, based on projections of technological advancements. As illustrated in Figure 1, the 350 Wh/kg battery enables the substitution of 594,157 private jet flights—17.1% of all small and medium-size flights. If all these flights were operated using electric aircraft, it would avoid an estimated 768,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is 4% of private aviation CO₂ in 2023. When considering air pollution, we estimate that 309,000 tonnes of landing and take-off (LTO) nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and 28.8 tonnes of LTO fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) could be cut, and that corresponds to 15% of the 2023 private aviation total for NO_x and 14% for PM_2.5. This highlights how smaller aircraft are more easily substituted, as they tend to operate on shorter routes than medium-size private jets.

Figure 1. Electric aircraft coverage of private jet missions (each dot represents 3,000 flights using Available Seat Kilometers-median points)

Using a more ambitious future scenario that assumes a battery energy density of 500 Wh/kg results in the potential to cover 1,214,282 flights—more than double the number under current technology—and that is 35% of small and medium-size flights. This would result in emission savings of approximately 2.15 million tonnes of CO₂ (12% of emissions in 2023), 6,260 tonnes of LTO NO_x (29%), and 59.2 tonnes of LTO PM_2.5 (29%). With the extended range made possible by higher battery density, the GHG reduction potential is nearly three times greater than what is achievable with the current 350 Wh/kg battery technology.

A carbon life-cycle comparison between jet fuel, electric, and hydrogen-powered aircraft reveals a more limited potential to reduce GHG emissions. To calculate CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions, we assume constant emissions of 305 g CO₂e/kWh for grid electricity, taken from the Stated Policies Scenario case in the United States for 2035 (IEA World Energy Outlook), and 29 g CO₂e/kWh for renewable electricity, assuming a 50-50 split of generation from wind and solar (Bieker, 2021). Battery manufacturing emissions are estimated at 48 kg CO₂e/kWh of battery capacity. Based on battery sizes of 920 kWh (9-passenger aircraft) and 780 kWh (19-passenger aircraft), and assuming a lifespan of 3,000 cycles, this adds approximately 14.72 kg and 12.48 kg CO₂e per flight, respectively.

Table 1 presents the carbon intensity per flight for both jet fuel and battery-powered aircraft. The results show that when powered by current grid electricity, battery-powered aircraft produce 12% more GHG emissions than conventional jet fuel. In contrast, when powered by entirely renewable energy, battery-powered aircraft reduce emissions by 89% compared with jet-fueled aircraft.

The range of battery-powered aircraft impacts not only individual flights but also the aircraft’s operational flexibility over its lifetime. To explore this further, we analyzed flight legs for each registered private jet that operated in 2023 using the ICCT’s Private Jet Inventory. From 22,661 unique aircraft registrations, we identified the maximum flight distance each aircraft completed during the year. At an energy density of 350 Wh/kg, only 64 aircraft—representing 404 flights—could operate entirely within the feasible range of battery-powered flight. Increasing the energy density to 500 Wh/kg expands feasibility to 351 aircraft and 9,585 flights. That’s still only 0.01% and 0.26% of all private jet flights for the current and future battery density, respectively.

The reality is that most private jets operate across a wide range of distances throughout their lifespan and this poses a challenge for electrification. Moreover, because battery-powered aircraft have lower cruise speeds than their fuel-powered counterparts, there are longer flight times that further reduce their competitiveness for time-sensitive travel.

With electrification, there are also infrastructure challenges, including the need to develop high-power electric charging facilities at airports. Additionally, the environmental benefits of ZEPs depend heavily on the source of electricity. For policymakers, a targeted tax or restriction on private jets powered by fossil fuel could be justified when clean alternatives become available. However, such policies would be most effective if timed with the availability of renewable energy and charging infrastructure.

Clearly, we shouldn’t expect electrified private jets to dominate the skies anytime soon. So, what can be done in the near term about their emissions? I see three possibilities: (1) a rapid scale up of sustainable aviation fuels made from advanced biofuels or renewable power (“e-kerosene”); (2) actions to avoid forming persistent condensation trails (“contrails”) that have strong warming impacts; and (3) eliminating exemptions for private jets in carbon pricing approaches like the EU Emissions Trading System. Implemented together, these could go a lot farther in addressing this problem than electric aircraft can today.