Accelerating the aviation industry’s sustainability flight path
Aerospace suppliers have a vital and exciting role to partner and chart the course of sustainable air travel with and for their customers.
For many skeptics sustainable air travel is an oxymoron.
But our industry is used to that kind of skepticism, the very notion of air travel was implausible to many when it was first attempted over 100 years ago.
Recently I took part in a panel discussion in Hamburg, looking at the various strategies and technologies we, and our industry counterparts, are working on to achieve net-zero aviation.
It’s clear that sustainable air travel is a driving force for our industry and momentum is gathering.
Continually evolving how aircraft are powered, reducing or eliminating the use of fossil fuels and investment in the technologies to support it are key.
And the industry isn’t without a multitude of options to decarbonize operations - some emerging and others being developed and tested and put into practice, including:
o Sustainable aviation fuels
o Hybrid and electric aircraft
o Advanced materials
o Smart air traffic management, and the potential of digital tools and data analytics
However, many of the solutions come with challenges and there isn’t a one size fits all.
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Which is why it’s one of the most exciting times to be an aerospace supplier. There’s a compelling opportunity for us to rise to the challenge of balancing the growing appetite for air travel with solutions that address the long-term sustainability of our industry.
With passenger air traffic predicted to double by 2040* – by an average of 3.4% annually - sustainability isn’t a choice… it’s an imperative. Our industry will look very different in 2040 if we collectively do nothing, our customer’s customer – airline passengers - are appropriately conscious consumers and looking for air travel that doesn’t literally or figuratively cost the earth.
As the saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and the race is on to find the best sustainable solutions to ensure our industry continues to thrive without damaging the planet for future generations.
Investment, collaboration, and innovation is key. We need to ensure all investments being made in technologies have a sustainability lens attached to ensure sustainable and affordable air travel is a viable reality.
It’s encouraging that there is a plethora of initiatives being worked on across the full breath and width of the value chain and that the industry is willing to pull together to make it happen.
There are also opportunities to partner in global sustainable research in public, private partnership such as the Clean Aviation SWITCH project, the Clean Aviation HECATE program, SESAR and CSAFE to name but a few!
Collins recently opened the Grid, an advanced power systems lab to develop and test key components for hybrid-electric propulsion – one of the many solutions targeted to help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Working many technology advancements in parallel to determining what fuel we put in the tank will enable our industry to realize both sustainability and affordability objectives in unison.
With so many exciting opportunities to make a legacy in our industry, one thing is clear to me.
Like most epic journeys, making air travel more sustainable isn’t a straightforward path. But like the Wright Brothers before us – our industry is used to making the impossible possible.
We just need to accelerate the pace, while maintaining our commitment to collaboration and ongoing investment in future technologies.
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