The Bourget Air Show opens its doors on Monday and ahead of this major global gathering where companies often announce large aircraft orders, Emmanuel Macron unveiled France’s plan for green air transport on Friday. The State will help the various ongoing projects at the rate of 300 million euros per year until 2030. In particular, financial support will be given to French start-ups working on small electric aircraft.
Many projects of this type have been launched in recent years. The most important is Toulouse Aura Aero with a hybrid aircraft called ERA. Designed to carry 19 passengers, it will be able to fly at 450 km/h over a distance of 1,600 kilometers. The project is very advanced. The first test flight is scheduled for next year and the market launch should take place in 2028. With many customers already. Almost 350 copies have been reserved.
A 100% electric French plane that can fly at 463 km/h
Second example: the 100% electric plane of Volt Aero, a company located near Royan (17). Its engineers are working on two versions. In the smallest model, designed to fly at 370 km/h, five passengers can travel. The XL version is designed for 12 passengers. Announced speed: 463 km/h. In both cases, the radius of action will not exceed 1,200 kilometers.
The use of hydrogen is also an avenue that many engineers are working on. Those of Airbus of course, but also those of another much more modest Toulouse company. Blue Spirit Aero intends to produce a small propeller aircraft (twelve in all) called the Dragonfly. It will be able to carry four passengers at a maximum speed of 230 km/h for flights lasting no more than three hours.
A plant near Pau to transform forest residues into fuel
As we can see, at the moment none of the planes that could start flying at the end of this decade are designed to cross the Atlantic. And so, to reduce their carbon footprint, airlines rely primarily on alternatives to kerosene. Fuel made from waste (biomass) or even completely synthetic. In airline jargon, they are called SAF (acronym for Sustainable Aviation Fuel).
Currently, only a small amount of these non-petroleum fuels are added to kerosene. For reasons of price (they cost much more) and availability. And France does not have on its territory any large industrial site dedicated to the production of SAF. Therefore, the plan presented by Emmanuel Macron foresees helping to build a first factory in Lacq, near Pau (64). It should enter service in 2027. At the end of the day, 700 direct jobs.
The raw material to produce this fuel will be mainly wood from local forestry which cannot be used to build furniture or frames. This future plant could produce 75,000 tons of this plant-based fuel per year. To get an idea of what this represents, know that a commercial airplane consumes around ten tons of fuel per flight hour.
Source: BFM TV
