The UK government has today (30 June) launched an initiative to develop the infrastructure required to aid electric and hydrogen aircraft. The launch comes as British Airways completes the first ever net zero carbon freighter flights powered by waste materials such as cooking oil. Transport secretary Grant Shapps launched the first round of the Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure competition under which the Government will award businesses and universities around the UK up to £50,000 each to pioneer critical research into infrastructure, such as charge points and hydrogen fuelling tanks, that will enable the mass uptake of electric and hydrogen aircraft. The move is part of the UK's efforts to deliver the world's first zero emission flight across the Atlantic within a generation, and comes after British Airways revealed it had carried out the world's first net zero carbon freighter flights powered by a mix of sustainably sourced waste such as cooking oil.