[ILA BERLIN 2018] Clean Skies Ahead

The aeronautics sector has become more sensitive to the environment. At ILA Berlin, which took place a few weeks ago in the south of the German capital, the key words were clean skies and sustainability. This was no coincidence. The aviation industry is striving to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050 while noise levels are expected to drop by 65%. As a result, new engines and new sources of energy have become very trendy.

We visited Pratt & Whitney’s booth to discuss their gear turbofan engine. In service since 2016, it currently powers the A320 Neo and 4 other aircraft platforms including the C Series. It is said to be one of the most efficient engines on the market.

While waiting for the first electric commercial flights to take off, various research projects are currently on trial to make our skies cleaner.

One of them, led by Bauhaus Luftfahrt, focuses on cleaner alternative fuels. The idea is how to most efficiently convert solar energy into liquid hydrocarbon fuels and use it in current aircraft and engine technology.

Boeing is  also working on new planes that could fly on biofuels.