Helping Europe's aviation sector rise to the challenges of the future

Air transport is a growing and increasingly vital part of our rapidly globalising world. At the same time, the aeronautics industry faces an unprecedented set of challenges. Chief among these is the need for greener and more sustainable aviation. For everyone in the industry, the message is clear: successful 'green' innovation will be key.

The European Union (EU)-funded project CARE (Clean Aerospace Regions) aims to enable Europe’s aviation industry, particularly the SME sector, to position itself at the forefront of this drive for innovation and thereby achieve increased competitiveness, economic growth and jobs.

Bringing together a number of regional research ‘clusters’, each cluster consisting of local enterprises, research & training bodies as well as local authorities, the CARE team has focused on identifying ways to help Europe’s aviation industry meet a range of environmental challenges, all requiring very different technologies. These include the need for ‘greener’ engines, lighter aircraft structures or alternative fuels, as well as for a more sustainable product life-cycle design, incorporating an aircraft’s basic manufacturing, maintenance and recycling processes.

“Another area where future innovation will be crucial,” explains Thilo Schoenfeld of France’s Aerospace Valley, which acts as Project Coordinator, “is the potential that could be unlocked by developing greener air traffic management techniques.” “For example, one might think a plane would fly straight from one airport to another, but this is definitely not the case,” says Schoenfeld, citing military restrictions or radar-related issues as key reasons why planes rarely travel ‘as the crow flies’.

According to Schoenfeld, there are two other ways in which air traffic could be made greener. One would be finding options to cut the need for aircraft to circle above airports, waiting to land. The second would involve making optimal use of modern technology allowing aircraft to fly longer at cruise altitude, linked to a capability for shorter but steeper landing approaches. This could significantly reduce noise pollution - another important green consideration.

Given that the focus of CARE project has been on finding ways of stimulating and enhancing the innovation needed to address these challenges, rather than developing the technologies themselves, the core work of the team centred on three key requirements. The first was to maximise the effectiveness of investments in research and development at regional level. The second was to stimulate the set-up of new regional research-oriented clusters, and the third was to identify and encourage synergies and public-private partnerships at the European scale.

At the heart of the project was the design and implementation of a Joint Action Plan (JAP), including 21 concrete measures designed to support European innovation efforts by addressing the continent’s weaknesses and reinforcing its strengths.

The 21 measures of the JAP were divided into three categories - Excellence, Efficiency and International Visibility. Actions under ‘Excellence’ included the identification of a common research agenda designed to help coordinate and promote the CARE priorities, as well as the establishment of specialist technical workshops. Actions in the ‘Efficiency’ category included providing assistance for SMEs in areas such as regulation, standards, the management of intellectual property rights and the fostering of collaboration with the major, global manufacturers. The last category included an initiative to establish a ‘Green Airport’ award.

“With its primary expertise lying in the development of regional research capabilities, the main objective of the CARE team was to support the SME segment of Europe’s aviation industry,” comments Schoenfeld, “since it is these enterprises, rather than the global players, which mainly operate at local and regional level, often as part of the supply chain for the major manufactures.” “Our aim has been to cover this part of the overall puzzle,” he adds.

While they may be less visible than the high-profile, global names, SMEs are no less vital to the aviation sector ecosystem, creating the bulk of all aerospace jobs worldwide. By ensuring that this vital part of the ‘puzzle’ is securely in place, the CARE project is expected to help Europe make great strides towards competitiveness and growth in a key industry of the future.

Project details

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  Project acronym: CARE
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  Participants: France (Coordinator), Poland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Turkey
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  Project reference 286560
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  Total cost: € 2 522 089
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  EU contribution: € 2 269 392
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  Duration: January 2012 - December 2014