European Union (EU) efforts to achieve a net-zero carbon future for aviation by 2050 are accelerating this year with the launch of a flurry of research and development projects under the auspices of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. Much of the work will focus on developing regional airliners to decarbonize short-haul flying, with prominent aerospace groups—including Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, Textron, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and GE Aviation—playing key roles.
Under Project Newborn, for example, Honeywell has signed with 17 other partners from 10 European countries to develop a megawatt-cell hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system. Initially, the partners expect the resulting technology to appear in a demonstrator aircraft by Textron eAviation subsidiary Pipistrel, building on recently completed work under the Unifier19 project, focused in the first instance on developing a 19-seat, hydrogen-powered regional airliner.
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