EU Aviation R&D Stalls: Hydrogen Plane Pushed to 2040s
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- The EU's Clean Sky programme launched in 2007, targeting a 50% CO2 emissions cut by 2020 versus year-2000 technology, followed by Clean Sky 2 in 2014 with a 20-30% CO2 reduction goal for the mid-2030s
- Clean Sky 2 allocated more than €26 million in taxpayer funds to private jet R&D, with other funds going to cockpit and cabin systems of limited environmental benefit, per T&E
- The Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, created in 2021 to succeed Clean Sky 2, focused on three concepts: ultra-efficient regional aircraft, short-medium range (SMR) aircraft, and hydrogen-powered planes
- Hydrogen aircraft have now been delayed into the 2040s, while technologies like open fan engines and laminar flow control — originally planned for the 2020s or early 2030s — still have no clear market entry date
- European aviation emissions have more than doubled since 1990, and the best-selling Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo are derived from 1960s and 1980s designs respectively
- T&E recommends a successor programme targeting high-risk technologies like blended wing body designs and electric/hydrogen/plug-in hybrid propulsion, plus dedicated support for EU SMEs and a stronger EU ETS carbon market
Why it matters: With the best-selling airliners (737 MAX, A320neo) still built on 1960s and 1980s airframes and EU aviation emissions more than doubling since 1990, the multi-decade delay of hydrogen aircraft and related Clean Aviation technologies means materially cleaner flying remains decades away. T&E argues Europe must back disruptive designs and SMEs rather than incremental upgrades, or risk losing yet another tech race to China.
