FUTPRINT50 - Greening tomorrow’s aircraft today

Aviation has a carbon problem. Not only is it responsible for about 2 % of the world’s total CO2 emissions today, aviation-related emissions are expected to grow by 300 % by 2050. Knowing that there is no path to achieving its ambitious climate goals without addressing aviation’s carbon footprint, the European Commission has set a target of making the sector climate-neutral by 2050. How does one go about making aviation climate-neutral?

According to the EU-funded FUTPRINT50 project, a good place to start is electrification. The project aims to advance aviation’s journey towards carbon neutrality by accelerating the entry-into-service of commercial hybrid-electric regional aircraft by between 2035 and 2040. Andreas Strohmayer, is a professor at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Aircraft Design, the project’s coordinating partner:

“With a strong focus on the deep decarbonisation of aviation, FUTPRINT50 set out to develop promising modelling and simulation tools, innovative aircraft electrification technologies, and a common roadmap for technology and regulation for this class of hybrid-electric aircraft,” says Strohmayer.

Well-positioned for the regional aviation market

Regional aircraft, which are designed to fly fewer passengers on short-haul flights, are facing increased pressure across Europe. Often viewed as having an outsized carbon footprint for distance travelled, some countries have begun cracking down on regional flights. For example, France banned domestic flights between cities that can be reached by train in under 2.5 hours, while Belgium increased taxes on flights shorter than 500 km. But fewer regional flights place more strain on other transport modalities, creating fewer options for travellers. “Hybrid-electric aircraft, which combine a conventional engine with an electric propulsion system, are well-positioned to serve the regional aviation market, offering significantly reduced emissions while not compromising the aircraft’s safety and still covering the relevant flight distances,” explains Strohmayer. However, before such aircraft are cleared for take-off, new technologies must be developed, validated and integrated – which is where the FUTPRINT50 project comes in.

“Via a comprehensive integrated aircraft design study, we were able to identify – and prioritise – the key enabling technologies, tools and design methods needed to make the hybrid-electric regional aircraft a reality,” adds Strohmayer.

A portfolio of technologies, tools and methods

Amongst the project’s portfolio of solutions is an open reference for a 50-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft and a range of tools for evaluating the feasibility and multi-fidelity trade-offs of various architectures and technologies. Researchers also developed a range of open-source tools and software solutions covering everything from system- and aircraft-level integration and technological, economic and risk assessments to conducting multi-technology interactive trade-off analyses. The project’s team of international aerospace leaders also advanced a range of key enabling technologies. These included energy storage models and battery pack solutions along with propulsion-related, energy harvesting technologies. The team also developed electric engine innovations, thermal management integration solutions, and models.

A roadmap to achieving the hybrid-electric regional aircraft

In addition to the consolidated knowledge on hybrid-electric aircraft design, the project produced an interactive roadmap for navigating the technological and regulatory aspects of hybrid-electric regional aircraft design. The comprehensive and interactive roadmap emphasises the most important enabling technologies and their interactions, along with identifying future needs for research and related infrastructures.

“FUTPRINT50 has advanced the knowledge base on the critical technologies needed to make a hybrid-electric regional aircraft a reality,” concludes Strohmayer. “In doing so, we have contributed to the EU’s Flightpath 2050 / Fly the Green Deal goal of reducing aircraft emissions while also supporting regional aviation’s many economic and social benefits.”

MORE INFORMATION

CORDIS project factsheet

FUTPRINT50 project website

FUTPRINT50 video

This article was originally published in © CORDIS - EU Research Results