The Gen Z Founding Team Tackling the Airline Industry’s Carbon Emissions
Meet the Forever Flight team and Co-founders, Ryan Wilkoff and Madison Ede. Forever Flight is dedicated to decarbonizing the aviation industry, a space that’s expected to pollute for many more years. To combat this, the Forever Flight team focus on the development of sustainable infrastructure and innovative products, such as on-site solar, tidal energy, microgrids, green hydrogen electrolyzers, and energy planning tools.
A response to the global climate crisis
Ryan founded Forever Flight in response to the global climate crisis. “I have baby cousins that need a planet to live on and air to breathe”, Wilkoff says. He recognized that the heavily subsidized aviation industry was doing little to mitigate the impacts of climate change, and saw an opportunity for small businesses to design and implement the net-zero solutions the industry needs. Forever Flight, alongside other innovative companies such as ZeroAvia and Magnix, is leading the charge towards a rapid transition to net-zero aviation.
Since its inception, Forever Flight has partnered with the National Renewable Energy Lab, Census, and CrowdSolve to rebuild Puerto Rico's grid to be climate resilient, and has developed Thunderbird Software to expedite their planning service. Last summer, Forever Flight expanded their business to prototype a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell drones capable of fighting forest fires called the Albatross H2O Flyer.
Where Forever Flight is going next
Despite very slow action from large airlines, the Forever Flight team is determined to fight for a sustainable future. “Years ago, the FAA put out research on how to mitigate your environmental impact from airport design. Only a select few airports have put into place a plan to limit their environmental impact, so small businesses desperately need investment to bring their solutions to every market in the world”, the team replied.
With a team all under the age of 26, they have developed a myriad of tools to mitigate climate change and bring worldwide aviation systems to net-zero as quickly as possible. With Crowdsolve's help, Forever Flight - alongside a group of students from General Assembly - developed Thunderbird Software to expedite the sustainable master planning process and limit costs for an airport.
The Forever Flight team is now seeking short-term funding to develop the Thunderbird Software and Albatross H20 Flyer fleet.
Interested in talking with Forever Flight? Reach out to Ryan and the team at info@forever-flight.com
Forever Flight is a shining example of the young people who refuse to leave the earth as they found it. Through their innovative products and determination to create a sustainable aviation industry, this team is making a significant impact in the fight against climate change.
