UK allocates over £100m to five R&D projects aimed at reducing aviation’s environmental impact.
The UK government has announced over £100 million in funding for five research and development projects to mitigate aviation’s environmental footprint. The Department for Business and Trade will channel this funding through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, focusing on groundbreaking technologies such as zero-emission hydrogen flight and sustainable propulsion systems.
This funding targets five key aerospace projects led by GKN Aerospace, Queens University, Rolls-Royce, Short Brothers, and ZeroAvia. Alexandra Herdman, senior policy manager at Logistics UK, welcomed the financial support, emphasising its importance for the aviation sector’s path to net zero.
“The aviation sector is notoriously hard to decarbonize, and investment in innovative technology will help reduce the carbon offsetting and carbon capture needed to meet the 2050 target,” Herdman stated. She also highlighted the UK government’s commitment to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the new SAF Bill.
The funded projects include:
- HOTLINE: Led by Rolls-Royce, focusing on turbine technologies to reduce costs. (£20.5m)
- AFCAD: By ZeroAvia, aiming to commercialise high-temperature fuel cell stacks for zero-emission hydrogen flight. (£17.5m)
- Scenic Composites: Led by Queens University Belfast, enhancing composite materials in the Belfast aerospace cluster. (£10.9m)
- IVI: Led by Spirit AeroSystems (Short Brothers), aiming to create lighter, more efficient aerostructures. (£10m)
- H2FlyGHT: Led by GKN Aerospace, developing a liquid hydrogen fuel system and cryogenic electrical propulsion system. (£44m)
These projects represent a significant step towards achieving net-zero aviation by 2050.
