On 23 February 2021, the European Commission announced its proposal for the future European Partnerships. The European Partnership for Clean Aviation will build on the work done to date by the Clean Sky and Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertakings, pursuing innovative and impactful research to ensure climate neutrality by 2050. The goal of the European Partnership for Clean Aviation is to minimise the aviation sector’s environmental impact, as part of the European Green Recovery priority of the European Union. The aviation industry is fully committed to climate neutrality by 2050.

‘Clean Aviation for a Competitive Green Recovery in Europe: Innovative Ideas Take Flight’ is the title of Clean Sky’s Spring Event, taking place online on 22 April from 14:00-17:00 CET. The line-up includes European Commissioners Gabriel, Vălean and Breton; Portugal’s Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education; leading aviation CEOs and esteemed MEPs, academics, SMEs and researchers.  

On 24 February 2021, Axel Krein gave an inspirational speech at the European Industry Days on how climate-neutral aviation could be achieved by 2050. “Now is the time for a revolution in aviation… fast, radical change for a greener, brighter future!” he said. Axel noted that we need to “build back better” in line with Europe’s green recovery and that a significant investment in aviation research is needed, and rapidly.

Our brand new infographic is now online. If you’ve been wondering about our roadmap to climate-neutral aviation, take a look! Discover our ambitious environmental targets, our wide ecosystem of participants and our key demonstrators for greener aviation!

Have you visited our online stand yet? Take a peek at our preview video and see what’s in store! Discover Clean Sky’s latest innovations, watch our informational videos, read our factsheets and listen to interviews with engineers and scientists! 

The empennage, also known as the “tail” of an aircraft, provides much-needed stability and directional control to the plane. The NEXTTRIP project worked on optimising the empennage to improve its aerodynamics, reducing drag and weight, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of an aircraft.

Our Executive Director, Axel Krein, has started to share his thoughts on the future of sustainable aviation via a new blog, on our website and on LinkedIn. The first two blogs are on the Green Recovery and how climate-neutral aircraft will be built by today’s students.

Transitioning metal parts to composite materials within the environmental control system (ECS) has two main benefits: reducing weight and negating the need for harmful chromium surface treatments. Chromium is both toxic to the environment and carcinogenic, so reducing the use of this element will also bring health benefits for workers.

The PERF-AI project has developed a fully functional prototype that analyses historical flight data to generate accurate performance models of individual aircraft.

Taking into account specific differences that arise in an aircraft’s lifetime and impact on their individual performance (such as ageing engines, modifications to aircraft structure etc), the software generates a more tailored, accurate performance model that can then be used to calculate flight trajectories that are optimised for fuel efficiency.

A second round of windtunnel testing is under way of a new composite wing which will equip a high-speed tiltrotor demonstrator being developed as part of the EU’s Clean Sky 2 programme. During the new round of evaluations, due to last for two weeks, a 1.2m (3ft 11in)-long model, developed by IBK Innovation, will be used. It is based on the wing’s aerofoil, complete with a moveable flaperon.

As the environmental impact of aviation is a major public concern, new rules and regulations are being increasingly introduced, intended to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint. Clean Sky’s GLIMPSE2050 (Global Impact Assessment of Regulations and Policies for Sustainable Aviation by 2050) project evaluates how effective these potential regulations are at reducing aviation’s environmental impact and makes recommendations to targeted stakeholders.

e-Pilots explores the benefits of applying cognitive computing to provide assistance to the flight crew in the decision-making process in key areas and unexpected or very complex circumstances. The project looks at how e-Pilots can support flight crew, for example in navigating, by taking into account surrounding traffic or other constraints, and managing non-normal situations.

The LABOR project is developing medium-size robots for the assembly of fuselage panels equipped with smart tools, human-robot collaboration and distributed software architecture. A lean and flexible automated solution has been developed, consisting of a jig and two medium-size robots on moving platforms. A multimodal perception system powered by AI monitors the collaborative workspace for safe human-robot collaboration.

To progress further in the study of aircraft acoustics, it is now necessary to study complex phenomena in flight. Doing that would normally require an array of thousands of microphones externally mounted on the aircraft – yet such microphones create their own noise that interferes with aircraft noise. Instead of shielding the microphones, Clean Sky’s ADAPT project used advanced signal processing techniques to separate aircraft and microphone noises.

Register today for the 11th EASN International Conference on Innovation in Aviation and Space to the Satisfaction of the European Citizens. The event will take place in Salerno, Italy, on 1st-4th September and will feature Clean Sky’s Executive Director, Axel Krein, as a keynote speaker.

The Bioengineering and Aerospace Engineering department at University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) together with Aernnova Aerospace SA will hold this conference virtually on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 March 2021. Registration is now open!

The conference is also seeking contributions covering current Clean Sky 2 research projects focused on the development of new materials, concepts and technologies aiming at reducing fuel consumption and maximising the efficiency of next generation aircraft aligned with the Clean Sky 2 High Level Goals (environmental performance, competitiveness and mobility).

National Geographic published an article recently on how innovative new technologies can power clean aviation. The article also featured SkyBreathe, a technology developed under the Clean Sky programme!