The R&D&I activities corresponding to the development of the future zero-emission aircraft (both in terms of decarbonization, and the emission of other atmospheric pollutants such as NOx, VOCs, etc. ), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and aeronautical systems, are incorporated into the Aeronautical Technology Plan (PTA), already established in the Recovery Plan. The prioritized components in the PTA are:
- Hydrogen based power systems, hydrogen tanks, control systems and the structure that integrates it would be the fundamental components of this development, which thus forms a complex subsystem of high technological integration value.
- The applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in areas such as: environment, agriculture, transport of parcels, security, transport of people, etc., with a high potential in terms of efficiency and reduction of emissions.
- Systems, such as avionics, on-board equipment, performance and control, systems for traffic management, communications, simulation, etc.
The PTA will promote new emerging technologies as a potential source of optimization and continuous improvement in the aeronautical sector to increase future growth thanks to its ease of adaptation in areas such as:
- The aerodynamic optimization of the aircraft and its adaptation to each phase of the mission that allows to reduce consumption and increase the efficiency of the aircraft and its operation.
- Structural optimization and the use of new materials, combined with new manufacturing and/or 3D printing processes.
- Management systems with Artificial Intelligence included in various subsystems of the aircraft.
The ACT01: Zero emission aircraft, UAV and aeronautical systems, has the general objective of supporting business R&D projects in cooperation, in aeronautical technologies, that contribute to achieving some of the challenges identified in relation to:
- Technologies focused on reducing emissions: zero emissions aircraft.
- WOW.
- Systems.
- Intelligent and advanced manufacturing: Digitalisation.
Support for these projects is in the form of a grant and has been managed by the Center for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI), having launched three PTA calls in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. The beneficiaries are groups of companies, with a budget reserved for groups composed of SMEs.
Execution and results
As for its budgetary execution, the calls for 2021, 2022 and 2023 are allocated a budget of 40, 80 and 41.7 M€, respectively.
A total of 31 projects have been awarded in the calls for applications in 2021 and 2022, to 143 beneficiary companies, of which 91 are SMEs. These projects will outsource research activities to 149 universities, research associations or technology centres. The proposals presented in the call for proposals of 2023 are in the process of evaluation
The first projects of the PTA have begun their implementation on 31/01/2022, so it is early to obtain technological results. The list of approved projects, as well as the organizations that take part in them, can be found in the links of the calls.