At the Paris Air Show, European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik presented plans for a major public/private partnership for a greener air transport system. Dubbed the "Clean Sky" Joint Technology Initiative, its objectives are to reduce CO2 emissions by around 40%, NOx emissions by 60% and noise by 50%.
Technology breakthroughs are hoped for in time for major fleet renewal in 2015 and will apply to three main aircraft categories (long range, regional, rotorcraft) and overall to engines and "systems".
The EU will contribute €800 million from its Seventh Research Framework Programme, a sum that will be matched by industry. Industry participation comes from across the aviation and aeronautics sector, with companies taking leading roles in the 6 areas identified for research: SMART fixed wing aircraft; green regional aircraft; green rotorcraft; sustainable and green engines; systems for green operations; eco-design.
Commissioner Potočnik said "The EU is not just talking about tackling climate change. It is also making the necessary investment in technological development. European Commission studies show that the aviation industry accounts for 4% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. So, I warmly welcome industry's commitment to the Clean Sky initiative. Clean Sky will make the best use of both public and private resources to develop cleaner and quieter aircraft, with spill-over benefits in many other areas of science like materials, computer simulations, and energy management."
Clean Sky aims to develop advanced technologies for the next generation of aircraft in order to establish an innovative and competitive Air Transport System. Through the development of full scale demonstrators, Clean Sky will perform an overall assessment of individual technologies at the fleet level, thus ensuring earliest possible deployment of its research results. The activity will cover all main flying segments of the Air Transport System and the associated underlying technologies identified in the Strategic Research Agenda for Aeronautics developed by the Aeronautics Technology Platform ACARE.
Clean Sky will be built upon 6 different technical areas called Integrated Technology Demonstrators (ITDs), where preliminary studies and down-selection of work will be performed, followed by large-scale demonstrations on ground or in-flight, in order to bring innovative technologies to a maturity level where they can be applicable to new generation Â"green aircraftÂ".
Multiple links for coherence and data exchange will be ensured between the various ITDs. Most of the test benches will be used in common by several ITDs.
The ITDs are:
The SMART fixed wing aircraft ITD, focused on active wing technologies that sense the airflow and adapt their shape as required, as well as on new aircraft configurations that can best incorporate these novel wing concepts.
The Green Regional Aircraft ITD, focused on low-weight configurations and technologies using smart structures, low-noise configurations and the integration of technology developed in other ITDs, such as engines, energy management and new configurations.
The Green Rotorcraft ITD, focused on innovative rotor blades and engine installation for noise reduction, lower airframe drag, diesel engine and electrical systems for fuel consumption reduction and environmentally friendly flight paths.
The Sustainable and Green Engine ITD, looking to integrate technologies for low noise and lightweight low pressure systems, high efficiency, low NOx and low weight. It will look at novel configurations such as open rotors or intercoolers.
The Systems for Green Operations ITD will focus on all-electric aircraft equipment and systems architectures, thermal management, capabilities for Â"greenÂ" trajectories and mission and improved ground operations.
The Eco-Design ITD will address the full life cycle of materials and components, focusing on issues such as the best use of raw materials, decreasing the use of non-renewable materials, natural resources, energy, the emission of noxious effluents and recycling.
Clean Sky will also have a Technology Evaluator, whose role is to assess the contribution that the research results in the 6 areas will make to the environmental objectives of the programme.
A report by The Mole
