HOW TO DISCOVER THE NEW WORLD: SUSTAINABLE AVIATION

donderdag 25 februari 2021
11:05
Door: Natasha Hendriks

The future demands sustainability, and fortunately every year we see people becoming more and more aware of it. Airlines too have sustainability high on the agenda. In LXRY List 2021, we look ahead to sustainable trends in aviation.Online Editor: Natasha Hendriks

Flying-V

Airline company KLM and TU Delft are working together on the Flying-V: an aircraft that can carry slightly more passengers than the Airbus A350 and consumes 20 percent less fuel due to a better aerodynamic shape and lower weight. According to KLM Managing Director Pieter Elbers, the development of the new aircraft - an idea by Justus Benad of TU Berlin - contributes to sustainable aviation. According to Professor Henri Werij of TU Delft, the ultimate goal is emission-free flying. The Flying-V still flies on kerosene, but can reportedly be easily modified to be suitable for, for example, electrically-powered jet engines.

Volocopter

According to Spanish aviation authority Enaire, we are going to see them in Barcelona's skies as early as 2022: flying cabs, the three-dimensional solution to the congestion problem. Several companies are making flying drones for passenger transport, and Volocopter is at the forefront of this development. Back in 2011, Volocopter made its first test flight. The subsequently developed VoloCity is a fully electric air cab that can fly autonomously. Starting in 2022, the VoloCity will perform commercial flights. It still feels like science fiction now, but by the end of this decade we will probably find it quite normal to "ubiquitous" through the air.

ZEROe Blended Wing Body

Airbus is working on the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft, studying various technologies and aerodynamic configurations. With this, Airbus aims to lead the way in phasing out fossil fuels and thus "decarbonizing" the aviation industry. The primary energy source of the future is hydrogen, which the company believes can significantly reduce aviation's impact on the climate. One of the three design concepts for the first climate-neutral and emission-free commercial aircraft is this ZEROe Blended Wing Body (up to 200 passengers), in which the wings and fuselage merge. The particularly wide fuselage offers different possibilities for hydrogen storage and distribution, as well as different cabin layouts.