Airbus Summit 2022 took place on digital platforms on 30 November-1 December. Based on the momentum of the Summit held last year, the event aimed to showcase the developments of the aerospace industry, which is moving towards a more sustainable future.

Professional guests from the business, science, automotive and energy industries as well as aviation industry attended to explore promising innovations, new technologies and cross-industry initiatives in the aviation industry.

First, the next steps in space technologies, hybrid energies, innovative new vertical flight features, cross-industry partnerships, sustainable aviation fuels and the latest developments in Airbus’s ZEROe hydrogen powered aircraft were discussed by experts.

Airbus and Renault Group Sign Agreement

Airbus Summit 2022 also hosted the public disclosure and elaboration of inter-company agreements.

In this context, Airbus and Renault Group signed a research and development agreement to accelerate their electrification roadmap and develop their own product ranges. This partnership is expected to help Airbus mature technologies related to future hybrid-electric aircraft.

As part of this partnership, the engineering teams of Airbus and Groupe Renault will join forces to mature technologies related to energy storage, one of the main obstacles to the development of long-range electric vehicles. The study also aims to prepare the industrialization of future battery designs and to evaluate and examine carbon footprints throughout their entire life cycle.

Gilles Le Borgne, Group Renault’s Executive Vice President of Engineering said: ‘’ For the first time, two European leaders from different industries are sharing their engineering knowledge to shape the future of hybrid-electric aircraft. Aviation is an extremely challenging field, both in terms of safety and energy consumption, and so is the automobile industry. As Groupe Renault, our 10 years of experience in the electric vehicle value chain provides us with some of the strongest feedback from the field and expertise on the performance of battery management systems. Driven by the same passion for innovation and reducing carbon footprints, our engineering teams engage with Airbus’ engineering teams to converge cross-technology that will enable both hybrid aircraft to be used and the development of tomorrow’s vehicles.’’

Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer said: ‘’ This cross-industry partnership with Groupe Renault will help us mature the next generation of batteries as part of Airbus’ electrification roadmap. Achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a unique challenge that requires collaboration across industries, starting today. Combining Groupe Renault’s experience in electric vehicles with our own history in electric flight demonstrators will enable us to accelerate the development of disruptive technologies required for future hybrid aircraft architectures in the 2030s and beyond. It will also encourage the emergence of common technical and regulatory standards that will support the clean mobility solutions needed to meet our climate goals.’’

Airbus and Groupe Renault’s collaboration on electrification will play an important role in bringing change to the transport environment by successfully contributing to the net zero emissions target of both the automotive and aviation sectors by 2050.