Industry Airbus and SAS partner to develop hybrid and electric aircraft

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Airbus and SAS Scandinavian Airlines for a hybrid and electric aircraft eco-system and infrastructure requirements research. The MoU was signed by Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer, Airbus and Göran Jansson, Deputy President EVP Strategy & Ventures, Scandinavian Airlines.

According to Airbus, the collaboration between the manufacturer and the airline is set to start in June 2019 and will continue until the end of 2020. Under the MoU, SAS and Airbus will cooperate on a joint research project to better the overall understanding of the infrastructure and operational opportunities and challenges that are involved when introducing hybrid and electric aircraft. Five work packages are included, which focus on analysing, charging, resources, time and availability at airports.

Additionally, the partnership includes a plan to involve a renewable energy supplier to ensure zero CO2 emissions.

In a statement, Airbus wrote: "Aircraft are roughly 80% more fuel efficient per passenger kilometre than they were 50 years ago.  However, with air traffic growth estimated to more than double over the next 20 years, reducing aviation’s impact on the environment remains the aim of the industry. [...] To overcome this challenge, the Global Aviation Industry (ATAG) including Airbus and SAS Scandinavian Airlines have committed to achieving carbon-neutral growth for the aviation industry as a whole from 2020 onwards, cutting aviation net emissions by 50% by 2050 (compared to 2005)."

Airbus added, that the partnership with SAS further strengthens the company´s position in the field of developing hybrid-electric and electric propulsion technologies. The manufacturer has already started to build a portfolio of technology demonstrators.

SAS is the flag-carrier of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The airline was founded in 1946 and has operational hubs at the country´s capital cities, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. SAS is a member of the Star Alliance and operates a fleet of 159 aircraft.