A clean, green flying machine

A century since the Wright brothers entered the record books with the first powered flight, planes carry 3.6 billion passengers and 60 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Yet they are also responsible for producing 781 million tonnes of carbon emissions – 12 per cent of those generated by transport. And, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the world’s airlines will be the single fastest growing user of oil over the next two decades.

Making the industry more efficient and more environmentally friendly is therefore a key priority. But it won’t be a smooth journey, says Fabrice Villaumé, director of strategy and innovation at Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE.

"Aviation is a risk averse industry by nature. We dislike risk because safety is paramount. How can you be an entrepreneur in an industry that’s so risk averse?" he asks. 

One solution comes in the form of a growing number of start-ups focused on different aspects of aviation technology.

Another comes via the big airline manufacturers. Airbus, for example, has created special innovation hubs that give their researchers freedom to experiment and try out new ideas. The company is working on over 450 digital initiatives, covering the whole aviation cycle from manufacture to assembly to operation.

And it’s not all about big new inventions – such as biofuel engines – which will take years if not decades to become a reality. Innovative use of already available technologies and data can also have a sizeable impact, Villaumé explains. 

"We have connected objects everywhere, and this is producing massive data. Data growth is exponential,” he says. “As soon as you are able to better understand what you have delivered and to collect information, then you can help the customer to really use the product to get the optimal performance.

Take flight paths. Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE has joined forces with French start-up OpenAirlines to offer airlines software which analyses flight conditions, payload, weather, the flight path and other parameters to calculate the most fuel efficient trajectory for each individual flight.

Using such data-led guidance can cut fuel consumption by as much as 5 per cent, both benefiting the environment and reducing operating costs. Crucially, live connectivity means that the flight path can be recalculated regularly even once the plane is in the air, reflecting any changing conditions. Even incremental changes can have a big cumulative impact on emissions, particularly when adopted across the industry as a whole.

Greater efficiency in aircraft manufacture is another route to cutting emissions. Here, 3D printing can help. Airbus’s latest planes feature 3D-printed spacer panels for overhead storage compartments. These are 15 per cent lighter than the previous, traditionally-manufactured versions, Villaumé says, helping reduce the weight of the overall craft and thus further improving fuel efficiency.

The performance of humans, too, can be improved. Pilots may soon be able to track their skills and performance via specially designed devices in a similar way to how runners already manage theirs – which will help them both to perfect and optimise their techniques. Such tools should also appeal to the new generation of pilots, helping address a shortfall in the profession.

“The world is changing rather dramatically – neurotech, biotech, robots, sensors, 3D printing, etc – it’s all coming … You need to be equipped to embrace these opportunities,” says Villaumé.