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