Aircraft certification is a comprehensive process that covers the design, production & operational aspects to ensure that aircraft are safe, reliable & compliant with all relevant standards & regulations. Aircraft certification is a lengthy & detailed process designed to ensure that the highest standards of safety & reliability are met before an aircraft enters into service. In Europe, the EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency is the central authority for certification & set the regulatory framework within which the national aviation authorities operate. Clean Aviation, partnership between the European Commission & the aviation industry in which Commission invests EUR 1.7 billion, is developing disruptive new aircraft technologies to support the #EUGreenDeal & climate neutrality by 2050. These technologies will deliver net greenhouse gas reductions of no less than 30%, compared to 2020 state-of-the-art. The technological & industrial readiness will allow deployment of new aircraft with this performance no later than 2035, enabling 75% of the world’s civil aviation fleet to be replaced by 2050. Clean Aviation is focusing on disruptive innovation for hybrid electric regional aircraft, ultra-efficient short & short-medium range aircraft, & disruptive technologies to enable hydrogen-powered aircrafts. These new disruptive technologies will need to certified before the aircraft can enter into service.
The Clean Aviation CONCERTO Project focuses on the certification needed to bring new disruptive aircraft technologies into the market, & at the same time, developing processes & methods that will enable a significant reduction of time to market & certifications costs. Last month, this 4-year project which was launched in 01/2023, delivered an important milestone with the publication of a brand new Certification Readiness Level (CRL) scale. This CRL scale includes 9 levels representing distinct stages in the certification process. It offers a crucial complement to the traditional Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), & are designed to assess the future certifiability of aircrafts which embrace disruptive innovations in order to deliver on zero emission aviation. The CRL scale has been recently published & introduced by EASA within their innovation services & is raising significant attention across the aviation community. The certification framework will not only improve safety, but will also significantly reduce the development time & cost to introduce new products to the market. The project will develop a digital framework for certification & aims to reduce with 30% both the time to market as well as the costs of certification. It project plays in important role in supporting the competitiveness of the European aircraft industry. The results are expected to be transposable and scalable to different product lines and aircraft segments such as general aviation, rotorcraft, business jets and commercial medium-long range, affecting the complete fleet.