the CEO of ADP presents the three types of aircraft of the future at the Paris Air Show

2023-06-25 14:33:00

Loane Nader // photo credit: Arthur N. Orchard / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 4:33 p.m., June 25, 2023

After four years of absence, the Paris Air Show welcomed thousands of aviation enthusiasts all this week. Between the aerial demonstrations of the Patrouille de France and the exhibitions of a hundred planes, the visitors to the event were won over. As with each of its editions, it also allowed aeronautics players to unveil their latest innovations, while responding to the ecological challenge affecting the sector. “Everyone is on deck to decarbonize air transport”, confirms Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of the Aéroport de Paris (ADP) group, at the microphone of Europe 1.

For the latter, the aircraft of tomorrow will come in three categories. “First, electric planes, which already exist. Within a few years, we will have regional planes with 20, 30, or 40 seats, which will be powered by electricity,” he explains. “The second category of aircraft will be medium-haul aircraft, which I hope by the end of the century can be powered by hydrogen. he then. Finally, the third type of aircraft, respecting the decarbonization project desired by the players in the sector, will be that of the “SAF, an acronym for Sustainable Aviation Fuel.”

E-fuels and electric planes

Indeed, these “sustainable aviation fuels”, as translated Augustin de Romanet, will not come from oil. It will be used mainly for long haul flights, with a range of more than 6,000 to 8,000 kilometers. “These fuels are synthetic compounds, either from organic matter, that is to say household waste or frying oil,” continues the CEO of ADP. In addition, according to the latter, another form of fuel will power these long-haul aircraft of the near future. “These fuels will be even more sophisticated, they are called E-fuels, that is to say from the synthesis between hydrogen and CO2, captured either in the atmosphere in its natural state, or coming out of the factory chimneys.”

Although he praises their efficiency and technological advances, Augustin de Romanet recalls the still very high cost of E-fuels. “They are still very expensive today, around 5,000 to 6,000 euros per ton, while oil costs only 800 euros per ton.”

The electric plane remains the most awaited technological advance in the field of aeronautics. “This morning, for example, I saw a start-up which has a project for a business jet with a 1,500 km range, at 570 km/h, powered by fuel cells”, reports the CEO, recalling that the currently functional electric planes have a range of 400 to 500 kilometers in radius. “It’s a hybrid hydrogen and electricity plane, since it’s hydrogen that powers a fuel cell, which produces electricity for the plane’s turbine. And that’s for 2029. is tomorrow!” Augustin de Romanet concludes enthusiastically.

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