A commercial plane takes off after sunset from Geneva Airport, Switzerland.
FABRICE COFFRINI | AFP | Getty Images
From the Wright brothers’ historic flight in 1903 to the development of supersonic aircraft, the history of aviation has been driven by technology and ambition.
Now, as the 21st century progresses, the sector continues to show its appetite for innovation and radical design.
The same month also saw Airbus release details of three hydrogen-fueled concept planes, with the European aerospace giant claiming they could enter service by the year 2035.
In a statement, United said the Overture aircraft — which is yet to be built — was set to be “optimized to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel.”
All of the above are linked by a focus on technologies designed to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint. This represents a major task, even if the number of flights last year slumped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the International Energy Agency, carbon dioxide emissions from aviation “have risen rapidly over the past two decades,” hitting almost 1 gigatonne in 2019. This, it notes, equates to “about 2.8% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.”
Elsewhere, the World Wildlife Fund describes aviation as “one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change.” It adds that air travel is “currently the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make.”
A variety of solutions
Iain Gray is director of aerospace at the U.K.’s Cranfield University. In a phone interview with CNBC, he described zero carbon as “the top priority” for the industry and sought to emphasize the importance of developing a range of solutions to tackle the challenge.
“The really big technology driver is around the propulsion system,” he explained, “but that doesn’t take away from the importance of new technologies around … new lightweight materials, enhanced carbon composite materials, and the systems itself.”
Expanding on his point, Gray provided an example of why the innovations on planes flying above our heads should not be viewed in isolation.
“There’s a lot of effort goes into reducing the weight on an aeroplane for it only to spend half an hour circling an airport,” he said.
“So the whole interaction of air traffic management with the aircraft itself is a … very important development and new technologies on airspace management are emerging all the time.”
The power of propulsion
Alongside the development of hydrogen fuel-cell planes there’s also been a lot of discussion around electric propulsion in recent years, with firms such as Volocopter and Lilium developing eVTOL, or electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The key with technologies such as these is the types of journeys to which they can be applied.
“If you look at hydrogen fuel cells and you look at batteries, that really is very much aimed at the smaller aircraft, that’s the sub 1,000 kilometer range,” Cranfield’s Iain Gray said.
“You have to do that in a zero carbon way, there’s no question,” he added. “Is that going to make a big difference to the overall CO2 contributions that aviation makes? No.”
“We need to focus on the longer range flights, flights greater than 1,000 kilometers, flights greater than 3,000 kilometers in particular.”
Fueling change
This focus on long-haul trips will be important in the years ahead, even though they make up a small proportion of flights.
According to a sustainability briefing from Eurocontrol published earlier this year, “some 6% of flights from European airports were long-haul” in 2020, measuring over 4,000 kilometers (around 2,485 miles) in length.
The intergovernmental organization went on to state that “more than half of European aviation’s CO2 emissions were from this tiny proportion of the overall number of flights.”
This viewpoint was echoed by Jo Dardenne, aviation manager at Transport & Environment, a campaign group headquartered in Brussels.
“We shouldn’t forget that the biggest chunk of aviation emissions are linked to long haul flights because you fly longer, you fly higher,” she told CNBC.
“So all in all you’re producing more CO2 … those long haul flights can only be decarbonized by replacing the kerosene that they’re using.”
It’s on these longer journeys that sustainable aviation fuel could have a significant role to play in the future.
Although the European Union Aviation Safety Agency says there’s “not a single internationally agreed definition” of sustainable aviation fuel, the overarching idea is that it can be used to reduce an aircraft’s emissions.
For its part, Airbus describes SAF as being “made from renewable raw material.” It adds that the most common feedstocks are based on crops or used cooking oil and animal fat.
“Currently, the big challenges of sustainable aviation fuel are producing it in the right volumes that are required, and at the right cost point,” Cranfield’s Gray said.
The provenance of feedstocks used for SAF is also important, he explained. “If what you’re doing … to produce sustainable aviation fuel is transporting fuel right across the world using feedstocks from the other side of the planet, then is it really sustainable?”
“The big effort at the moment is looking at how you can produce sustainable aviation fuels in a … green way.” This could be fuel from waste or local resources, Gray added.
One type of fuel generating interest is e-kerosene, which also goes by the name of synthetic kerosene. According to a briefing from T&E published in February, e-kerosene is produced by combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
“What’s great about it is that it can be dropped into these jets without any modification of the engine and of the technology of the plane,” Dardenne said.
“It’s a carbon neutral fuel, it’s something that can be easily dropped in,” she added. “The only problem is that it’s very expensive.”
Driving cost down will indeed be key in the years ahead, but organizations like T&E are keen to emphasize the potential environmental benefits of using it.
If the CO2 is “captured from the atmosphere” and hydrogen produced using renewables, T&E says “the combustion of e-kerosene will, apart from some residual emissions, be close to CO2 neutral.”
The future
While technology may be developing, the world also needs to come up with rules and regulations focused on the environmental footprint of air travel.
Examples of these efforts include the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation and the European Union including carbon dioxide emissions from aviation in its emissions trading system since the year 2012.
In her interview with CNBC, T&E’s Dardenne stressed the importance of “proper regulation.”
She said: “If you price emissions and pollution effectively, then mandate the use of clean technologies, you send the right signals to investors, private and public, to invest in them.”
“The clearer the regulatory framework the more certainty you can provide to the market that these technologies will have a future,” she added.
“And that will actually bring added value, financial added value, as well as environmental added value.”
Looking at the bigger picture, she went on to state that “proper regulation” would come via effective carbon pricing and fuel mandates, describing the latter as an obligation to use clean fuels. These were, she argued, “the cornerstone of effective aviation decarbonization strategy.”
Brent crude prices pared gains from the previous session and fell nearly $2 on Friday after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, but they were still poised for a third straight week in the black.
Ilan Rosenberg | Reuters
Oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday as a freshly announced Iran-Israel ceasefire began to allay investor concerns over supply and shipping disruptions in the oil-rich Middle East.
The Ice Brent contract with August expiry was trading at $69.76 per barrel at 09:09 a.m. London time, down 2.41% from the previous session. The front-month August Nymex WTI contract was at $66.85 per barrel, 2.42% lower from the Monday settlement.
Oil prices had added roughly 10% over the mid-June start of Iran-Israel hostilities that were exacerbated in recent days by U.S.’ direct military involvement and Iran’s retaliatory strike against an American base in Qatar. Crude futures eased following U.S. President Donald Trump’s overnight announcement of an Iran-Israel ceasefire despite lingering questions over implementation and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program — the key cause of the recent hostilities cited by Israel and the U.S.
At risk throughout the offensives were supply in both Iran — which produced 3.3 million barrels per day in May, according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report released in June, which cites independent analyst sources — and the broader Middle East region, if the conflict spilled over.
Throughout the hostilities, investors also watched whether Iran would proceed with closing the Strait of Hormuz linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — a key route for Iranian and other Middle Eastern shipments, including those of the world’s largest crude exporter Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report from Iran’s state-owned Press TV that CNBC could not independently verify, though a final decision rested with the country’s national security council.
“The potential closure of Strait of Hormuz remains a tail risk in our view, but we maintain that oil prices would race past $100/b in such a scenario, due to limited avenues to bypass the narrow passage and the constraints it would pose to the marketability of spare capacity,” Barclays analysts said in a Tuesday note, just as Trump announced a tentative ceasefire.
They further added that oil prices came under pressure “as the threat of wider regional conflagration did not materialize despite the US action against Iranian nuclear sites.”
Amid risk to supply, the International Energy Agency previously reassured it had 1.2 billion barrels of emergency stockpiles it could resort to. As part of a strategy decided prior to the Iran-Israel escalations, some producers from the influential OPEC+ alliance have also been raising output and have additional spare volumes that could be brought online.
Raleigh is rolling out a new chapter in its long legacy of bicycle design with the launch of the Raleigh ONE, a sleek, smart e-bike aimed squarely at the European urban mobility market. Officially unveiled today, the Raleigh ONE combines classic British cycling heritage with modern connected tech, delivering what the company calls “the only e-bike you’ll need in the city.”
Taking a page out of Big Tech’s playbook, Raleigh is also offering a membership program to unlock extra features. But will riders pay up, or will they balk?
While it’s debuting first in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, the Raleigh ONE seems clearly designed for global appeal. It’s a one-size, one-speed, minimalist-style urban e-bike built with high-quality components and a suite of smart features accessed via an app and membership system.
Think of it as a mix between a timeless European utility bike and a Silicon Valley tech platform.
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We’ll get to that tech, but first let’s dive into what makes it an e-bike. On the powered side of things, the Raleigh ONE sports a 360Wh removable battery that offers up to 80 km (50 mi) of range in eco mode and around 50 km (31 mi) in boost. That battery powers up a 250W Mivice rear hub motor, one of the nicer and more sophisticated hub motors on the market. The maximum assisted speed is 25 km/h (15.5 mph), keeping with European e-bike regulations.
The bike uses a Gates carbon belt drive for low-maintenance, grease-free operation and includes hydraulic disc brakes for confident stopping power.
Lighting is fully integrated and smart-enabled, with wraparound rear lights and a dual front beam. The riser bars, wide tires, and upright geometry give the Raleigh ONE a comfortable ride posture designed for all-day city use, even over rough pavement.
The bike is equipped with an SP Connect mount for the rider’s phone, allowing for hands-free use of Raleigh’s new app, which acts as a digital control hub for both ride data and security features.
Raleigh is leaning heavily into connectivity with the Raleigh ONE. Once registered through the app, users can enable auto-unlocking, journey tracking, alarm features, GPS location, and theft alerts. The system supports wireless updates, and security functions are controlled via handlebar buttons or the app itself.
Joining a growing trend among some connected e-bikes in 2025, the Raleigh ONE introduces a membership model to use some of its more desirable features such as sharing digital unlock access.
Base (free) with essential features including Ride dashboard, “basic security,” Bluetooth updates, and manual stolen mode.
Core (€7.99/month) with expanded services including automatic stolen mode activation, smart maintenance, and bike sharing access for one additional rider.
Icon (€14.99/month) includes all of the above plus over-the-air updates, bike sharing access for up to four other riders, remote arming, and full insurance coverage (provided by Hepster).
Memberships are optional, but the more advanced functionality (especially security and insurance) lives behind a paywall. Just like your friendly neighborhood dealer, Raleigh offers the Icon plan with a free trial (30 days) to help get you hooked. For those ready to jump in with two feet, the paid plans also have lower annual rates.
With a €2,699 / £2,399 price tag, the Raleigh ONE positions itself competitively among other premium urban e-bikes like those recently unveiled by VanMoof, especially considering its inclusion of fast charging (50% in 1 hour, full in just over 2 hours), built-in lights, belt drive, and theft protection ecosystem.
One of the standout value points is Raleigh’s dealer network and after-sales service, a major advantage over many online-only e-bike startups. Add in Raleigh’s 130+ year reputation in the cycling world, and the ONE looks like an interesting option for urban riders who want a worry-free, future-proof ride.
Accessories like front carriers, baskets, and integrated AXA locks round out the ecosystem, with more to come.
Selin Can, EVP of Mobility at Accell Group (Raleigh’s parent company), called the Raleigh ONE “a bold fusion of heritage and innovation.” That seems to be the goal here: take Raleigh’s deep cycling roots and plug them into a modern electric, digital, app-connected future.
With the launch of the ONE, Raleigh isn’t just releasing a new e-bike, it’s making a play to reclaim relevance in a world of smartphones, theft alerts, and mobility-as-a-service. The inclusion of basic tech features for free is important to prevent alienating its customers completely, though many riders may feel frustrated at having to pay extra to access hardware or features already designed into the bike.
What do you think? Is the Raleigh ONE an e-bike of the future, or a warning of what could be coming in a future walled garden? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Supporters of regime change in Iran rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building on June 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images
It’s a strange thought that launching attacks on other countries could lead to peace, but that seems to be the logic behind the abrupt escalation in conflict in the Middle East beginning Saturday. And now there’s a confusing ceasefire.
“Very confusing! Does Israel have 12 more hours to strike based on his [Trump’s] first announcement? Or are they supposed to be in ceasefire now? Even after the deaths in Beersheva and Iran’s barrage after the deadline? No one knows!” Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, posted on X.
On Monday, Iran launched a retaliatory strike against America, targeting a U.S. military base in Qatar. Later that evening stateside, Trump announced a ceasefire.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi denied that the country had agreed to a ceasefire — but said Iran was open to halting its military operations if Israel, which has yet to respond publicly to Trump’s statement, stopped its “aggression against the Iranian people.”
While Iran continued striking Israel on Tuesday morning local time, Tehran’s state-aligned media reported them as “the last round of Iranian missile attacks … before the ceasefire began.” CNBC, however, was unable to independently verify the claim.
Iran also gave the U.S. “early notice” of its attack on the military base in Qatar, according to Trump. It was a “retaliation that was expected,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said. Qatar also received advanced warning from Iran, according to The New York Times, which cited three Iranian officials familiar with the matter.
This, essentially, is “the peace through strength strategy,” Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC.
In other words, there’s a small chance tensions in the Middle East might truly cool down following a carefully calibrated and symbolic exchange of strikes that projects strength from all parties, while also providing Iran an off-ramp to de-escalate tension.
Judging by stock markets worldwide and oil prices — which rose and fell, respectively — investors are indeed hopeful this missiles-led peace will likely stay.
What you need to know today
Iran says it’s prepared to stop attacks Trump said early Tuesday morning stateside that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran — which he had announced Monday evening — was “now in effect.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had earlier said there was “NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” but signaled that Tehran had “no intention” to continue armed conflict. Israel has not publicly confirmed that they have accepted Trump’s ceasefire timeline.
Iran strikes Israel and U.S. military base in Qatar Iran on Tuesday fired a “final round” of missiles at Israel before the 12 a.m. ET ceasefire with Israel came into effect, Iranian state-aligned media announced Tuesday. CNBC was unable to independently verify the claim. On Monday, Iran launched an airstrike on United States’ Al-Udeid military base in Qatar, the largest American military installation in the Middle East, with around 10,000 service members.
Prices of oil post a huge drop Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday during Asia hours on news that Iran was prepared to halt military operations. As of 1:30 p.m. Singapore time, U.S. crude oil was down 3.04% at $66.43 per barrel, while Brent had shed 2.99% to $69.34, with both benchmarks adding to the previous day’s losses of more than 7%. Trump on Monday demanded that “everyone” keep oil prices down or they would play “into the hands of the enemy.” Trump didn’t specify who he was referring to, but he seemed to be addressing U.S. oil producers.
[PRO] Wall Street’s thoughts on robotaxis Wall Street closely watched Tesla’s robotaxi launch in Texas over the weekend. Analyst outlooks on the event vary widely. While Wedbush’s Dan Ives, who rode in the robotaxis over the weekend, said it “exceeded our expectations,” Guggenheim’s Ronald Jewsikow called the event “baby steps.” Here’s what analysts think about what the robotaxis mean for Tesla’s stock.
And finally…
An Airbus A350-941 commercial jet, operated by Emirates Airline, at the Paris Air Show in Paris, France, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
Airlines diverted more Middle East flights on Monday after Iran’s armed forces said the country launched a missile strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar, as the region’s military conflict continued to disrupt airlines’ operations.
Dubai-based Emirates said that some of its aircraft rerouted on Monday and told customers that delays or longer flights were possible as it would take “flight paths well distanced from conflict areas,” while operating its schedule as planned.
Air India said it had halted all flights in and out of the region and to and from the east coast of North America and Europe “until further notice.”
Earlier, major international airlines including Air France, Iberia, Finnair and others announced they would pause or further postpone a resumption of service to some destinations in the Middle East.