Is the zero emissions target for civil aviation by 2050 achievable? “Absolutely” according to Patrick Daher, the general commissioner of the Paris Air Show who was the guest of the RMC morning show this Sunday, the closing day of the event. “This fair was a sign of renewal because the entire French aeronautical sector, but also the European and global ones, have aligned themselves to work very hard on the decarbonisation of aircraft and that can be seen everywhere at the fair,” he said, rejoicing.
A guideline confirmed by Agustín de Romanet at the Europa 1 microphone this morning. “The fact that there is no show for four years makes the revolution of innovation at work in the world of aviation appear even more strongly, believes the general director of the ADP group. […] This Paris Air Show is one of the general commitments of all to decarbonise air transport.”
Three future aircraft categories
Carbon-free civil aviation will be organized around three aircraft categories according to Augustin de Romanet. Over the shorter distances, regional planes with 20 to 40 seats powered by electricity will appear in the coming years. “Today we have electric planes that have ranges of 400 to 500 kilometers and I think that little by little we will have planes with greater range,” he predicts. In medium-haul flights, the hydrogen plane will be the new flagship model, but we will have to wait a little longer to see it commercialized.
Finally, sustainable aviation fuels, also known as SAF, are the popular technology for decarbonizing long-haul aircraft. “They are fuels that are not oil but synthetic compounds of organic matter such as household waste or frying oils or even more sophisticated fuels: e-fuel that is a synthesis between hydrogen and CO2 captured either in the atmosphere in its natural state or at outlet of factory chimneys”, details the head of ADP.
What time of marketing?
While all the various areas of development to decarbonise the aviation sector are known today, their realization will not happen for a few years, or even decades for some. “For 3-4 years, we’ll have a lot of ideas and projects all over the world, then things will harden and the technology guidelines will be defined,” explains Patrick Daher. So we’ll have the first hybrid plane by the end. of this decade.
To achieve these dated objectives, the General Commissioner of the Paris Air Show insists on the financial mobilization of all actors, from States to industrialists and emerging companies. “Industrialists are using equity openings, loans while start-ups are financing innovation, he says. This series of additional funding will allow us to make this transition, but it will be very expensive.”
Source: BFM TV
