Paving the way for a sustainable aviation industry with aluminium

AL Circle

One of the biggest consumers of energy and raw materials is the aviation sector, where aluminium plays a vital role for its lightweight and tensile properties. With the protocols implemented by the Paris Environment Act 2015, the world is moving toward a greener future as many big firms like Airbus, Constellium, TISICS, and TARMAC are transforming their entire value chain for a greener outcome.

Paving the way for a sustainable aviation industry with aluminium

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The 2023 Paris Air Show was just another foreground to raise sustainability issues, and the UK Government seeing the ripest opportunity has pledged £218 million in funding to enhance aerospace projects so that they might reach their full net-zero potential. To induce greener air travel, the usage of renewable energy for aerospace parts creation is on the rise.

During her speech at the 2023 Paris Air Show, which is the most significant event for the civil aerospace sector, Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani announced that a considerable amount of money would be used to develop innovative landing gear and aircraft wings, engines, and sensors that are more efficient and produce lower carbon emissions. This funding will be provided through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme to create more high-skilled jobs and increase investment in aerospace technology throughout the UK.

Nusrat Ghani remarked: "We're growing the economy and supporting high-skilled, high-wage careers across the UK by backing our world-leading sectors like aviation."

"We want to achieve net zero air travel by 2050, and I want UK firms to lead the way in developing the exciting technologies of the future. Backing our innovators will attract even more investment and create massive export opportunities for British firms," Ghani asserted.

Ten pioneering projects, led by world-renowned companies such as Airbus and Rolls-Royce, will be supported by this cash injection alongside over 40 UK-based partners. The ATI Programme is a joint government and industry investment that aims to offer competitive funding for research and technology development in the UK. This investment aims to maintain and enhance the UK's competitive position in civil aerospace and accelerate the transition to net zero aviation.

Airbus and its partners are collaborating on several projects to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the aerospace industry. These initiatives include iBREAK for manufacturing landing gear components, LandONE for designing lighter and greener landing gear systems, and Next Wing for shortening the wing design process using digital tools.

Further projects, such as ONEHEART, DELTA, DQP, OLLGA, ARRP, BETA, and MUSIC, aim to reduce development time, improve production efficiency, assess remaining life, and develop manufacturing technologies. These initiatives are expected to significantly impact the aerospace industry by making it more competitive, efficient, and sustainable.

The sustainable approaches can be divided into two specific regions:

  • Sustainability in aeroplane parts production
  • Sustainability across day-to-day operations 

Airbus has been the most prominent name in the aviation sector for more than half a century and has been the harbinger of innovations in the sector. Recently, AL Circle covered instances when Airbus was found forming alliances with manufacturing firms like Oerilikon to produce additively manufactured sustainable aerospace components for intergalactic aviation.

TARMAC Aerosave, which is an ancillary firm of Airbus Safran, has successfully inked a deal with Constellium SE to develop methods and technologies for recycling aluminium from retired aircraft. Reusing aluminium in the aerospace industry can preserve its elemental characteristics and performance. Aluminium's 100% recyclability helps firms in realising this sustainability dream.

Scandinavia is introducing the first zero-emission aviation technology developed by Heart Aerospace engineers. Sweden aims to achieve fossil-free domestic flights by 2030 and outgoing flights by 2045. The customised aluminium framework is currently undergoing ground tests, with a flying prototype planned for testing in 2026.

On a slightly different note, Emirates has currently introduced closed-loop recycling on all of its flights, where the customers can return the used packaging material, either made of plastic or aluminium, to the flight attendants. This noble initiative helps in diverting the enormous amount of packaging waste generated onboard and circulates it back into the material chain, propelling a circular economy. In a literal sense, Emirates has adopted greener flying protocols for its flagship aeroplanes. The drive might seem tiny at first glance, but technically, it will reduce carbon emissions along the company's flight routes in the long run.

Transportation

Aluminium alloys accounted for 47% of aerospace materials demand in 2015. This equals 733.2 million pounds or 351,000 tonnes, worth around US$3.1 billion. Demand for aluminium alloys will remain steady, with a slight increase of 0.5-1% in the next five years. Emerging applications of aluminium in aerospace industry will soon augment the demand for low-carbon aluminium internationally; since aviation firms are eager to journey toward a net-zero future with the least amount of carbon footprint left behind. 

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