Presentation on Life Cycle Assessment activities within Hybrid Electric Regional project during the 14th EASN Conference

Submitted on Wed, 10/23/2024 - 14:51

Author: Deborah Neumann de la Cruz1

 In our current times, it has been made clear how important the reduction in emissions of   
greenhouse gases (GHG) is for aviation 6. There is a high dependence on fossil fuels and   
different playing parties in the aviation sector are tackling decarbonisation as prime goal on   
sustainability, investing on new technologies to reduce this dependence and therefore, the   
usage and burn of fossil resources.

Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft Distribution Technologies, or HECATE, is a project inside the   
Clean Aviation program and its goal is to deliver transformative technologies considering HVD   
for the electrical distribution of hybrid electric regional aircraft. Under the same scope of   
application, the Hybrid Electric Regional Wing Integration Novel Green Technologies, or   
HERWINGT, is a project inside the Clean Aviation program and its goal is to design an innovative   
wing suitable for the future hybrid-electric regional aircraft (HER).

Several projects designing parts for the HER Project are bound to deliver Life Cycle Analysis   
studies, as it can be not only a powerful tool to assessing the environmental footprint of these   
new technologies but also a source for identification of future improvements and eco-design   
efforts. Under this light, the undergoing LCA activities in HER Project are selected for   
presentation during the 14th EASN International Conference.

The 14th EASN International Conference aims to shed light on the strategic priorities guiding the   
European aviation sector toward sustainability, in which participants will have the opportunity   
to showcase ongoing projects, celebrate milestones, delve into current trends, and explore   
future requirements within the aviation and space domains, with a focus on forging connections   
and synergies8.

As an LCA study can be conducted in different ways, formats and using different standards or   
assumptions, the importance of bringing the subject forward during the EASN Conference relies   
on how LCA challenges and blocking points are being addressed by promoting the alignment   
between different projects and partners working for the same purpose – in this case, the future   
hybrid-electric regional aircraft. Mainly, the presentation shall reflect on different ISO14040-44   
criteria and their applicability on different cases, but keeping consistency between the projects.

Topics such as functional unit, study boundaries, data quality, guiding assumptions during data   
collection, impact assessment methodology, and study scalability shall be discussed and shared.   
It is expected that these presentations can contribute even more to guiding LCAs for novel   
technologies in aviation, and to be reference for publication of future studies.

Besides, as the overall goal of Clean Aviation programme is focused on achieving climate   
neutrality by 2050. The opportunity to enter LCA studies opens the impact monitoring beyond   
GHG emissions and the usage of fuels and energy, and it can alert for impacts and potential   
problems that could be faced in the future, such as scarcity of resources other than fossil.   
1Airbus Defence and Space S.A.U., Paseo John Lennon 2, 28906 Getafe, Spain

Acknowledgement: Funded by the European Union under GA no 101101961 – HECATE, and no   
101102010 – HERWINGT. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only   
and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Clean Aviation. Neither the   
European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. The projects are   
supported by the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and its Members.   


Keywords: Clean Aviation; HERWINGT; HECATE; Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft; Life Cycle   
Assessment; Life Cycle Impact Assessment; ISO14040; ISO14044; Environmental Impact   
Assessment.   


References 

  1. Clean Aviation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2024, from Clean Aviation: https://www.clean-aviation.eu/
  2. HERA Project Web-Page. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2024, from Home/HERA: https://www.clean-aviation.eu/sites/default/files/2023-04/Clean%20Aviation%20Projects.pdf
  3. HECATE Project. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2024, from HECATE Project: https://hecateproject.eu/
  4. ISO 14040:2006. Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.
  5. ISO 14044:2006. Environmental Management—Life cycle Assessment—Requirements and Guidelines. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.
  6. Izquierdo, D., Casas, G., Castro, I., Zieminska-Stolarska, A., Sobulska, M., & Zbicinski, I. (2023). Electrical Distribution System LCA for Future Regional. Aerospace.
  7. Thonemann, N. (2020). How to Conduct Prospective Life Cycle Assessment. MDPI Sustainability.
  8. 14th EASN International Conference (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2024, from https://easnconference.eu/2024/home