With the European Union setting the objective to have climate neutrality with air transport by 2050, an alliance with aerospace companies have been launched to develop zero-emission aircrafts. In particular, the aerospace sector will prepare for the introduction of electric- and hydrogen-powered aircrafts.
Airbus, the biggest aeronautical company in Europe, has already started the effort for decarbonization. Since 2010, the company has started the effort to implement electric propulsion systems on concept aircrafts as the “CriCri”. Later, the E-Fan, another electric demonstrator aircraft, successfully crossed the English Channel in 2015. The successful flight of the E-Fan gave birth to its successor, the E-Fan X, a hybrid-electric aircraft demonstrator for regional flights. The efforts of Airbus have not only concentrated on the development of standard aircraft, but also on Vertical Take-off aircraft (VTOL) for urban air mobility.
The E-Fan X, which is still under development, is a joint effort between Airbus, Siemens, and Rolls-Royce. In this context, Airbus oversees the general design of the aircraft, while Siemens and Rolls-Royce of the propulsion system, where Siemens developed a 2 MW electric motor which is integrated to a Rolls-Royce AE2100 turboshaft. This aircraft is hybrid, where only one of the four engines is electric, which will serve to demonstrate the electric-propulsion system capabilities.
Although the efforts taken by the aerospace sector towards the reduction of CO2 emissions is just getting started, the future for sustainable, green air transport is real.