What will green aviation look like in 5 years? How does it need to evolve in terms of sustainability? What role does open innovation play? And why is diversity so important for the future of aviation? That’s what the ZAL Innovation Talk “Green Aviation 5 Years From Now” with Grazia Vittadini, CTO of Airbus (at the time of the event), was all about.
Airbus has set a goal of achieving technology readiness with its ZeroE fleet by 2026/2027 and having the first carbon-neutral commercial aircraft take-off by 2035. A particularly ambitious timeline for aviation. Grazia Vittadini and Roland Gerhards, moderated by Lukas Kaestner, discussed what steps aviation needs to take to achieve this. There is an urgent need to protect our planet. As Vittadini said, “There is no Planet B!” It is important to look at climate-neutral issues holistically and also think about circularity, materials used, etc. Hydrogen as an alternative means of propulsion as well as sustainable aircraft fuels are a big topic and will be in the future. ZAL will also play an important role in driving hydrogen research and development. Which technologies will prevail, be combined or, whether different technologies will be designed for different requirements – we will see.
Open innovation, given the challenges facing the industry, is also the key. Only by collaborating across company and industry boundaries, like at ZAL, for example, can we successfully and efficiently overcome these obstacles.
To make aviation fit for the future, diversity is also a big issue, among other things to stay innovative and creative and to include various perspectives, but of course also to attract the best talent in the long run. In Grazia Vittadini’s words, “I believe this is not a choice!”. What a various and inspiring ZAL Innovation Talk – we’re already looking forward to next time!
