AIRBUS - 2020 Universal Registration Document
1. Information on the Company’s Activities /
1.2 Non-Financial Information
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Graph 3: Average intensity metric (gCO 2 /pax.km)
Intensity metric (gCO2/pax.km)
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A350XWB introduction
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A320Neo introduction
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A330Neo introduction
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2020
Delivery year
2. Investing in Technologies Enabling us to Market Zero‑Carbon Vehicles The Company is committed to contributing to developing, building and testing alternative-propulsion systems – powered by electric, hydrogen and/or solar technology – to enable the aviation industry to disruptively reduce the CO 2 emissions of commercial aircraft, helicopters, satellites and future urban air mobility vehicles. In 2019, the Company invested €3.4 billion in R&D for the development and improvement of its product line.
The Company is also investing in the proper facilities to test these new technologies. Inaugurated in October 2019, the E-Aircraft System House (“ EAS ”) is, with more than 3,000m 2 , the largest test house dedicated exclusively to alternative propulsion systems and fuels in Europe. This means the Company can now test the latest electric motors and hybrid-electric engines directly on its own premises, and develop its own low-emission alternative propulsion units. The Company goes beyond technology maturation by collaborating with the right ecosystem. In 2019, the Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with airlines such as SAS Scandinavian Airlines and easyJet to jointly research into a zero-emission aircraft eco-system and its infrastructure requirements. The Company is also part of the Hydrogen Council and launched a joint-venture in 2020 with ElringKlinger in order to benefit from the huge cross-industry experience of others, and accelerate its ambition. Zero-emission Urban Air Mobility Since 2014, the Company has been exploring how recent technology advancements – from battery capacity and autonomy to electric propulsion – can help drive the development of new kinds of aerial vehicles with the potential for zero emissions when powered by renewable energies. In May 2018, the Company created the Urban Mobility entity to take its exploration into cutting-edge commercial urban air mobility solutions and services to the next level.
Zero-emission Commercial Aircraft Ambition The Company’s work in electric ight has laid the groundwork for our future concept of zero-emission commercial aircraft known as ZEROe. The Company is now exploring a variety of hybrid- electric and hydrogen technology options. Hydrogen is a high-potential technology with a specific energy- per-unit mass that is three times higher than traditional jet fuel. If generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, it emits no CO 2 , thereby enabling hydrogen-based synthetic fuels to potentially power large aircraft over long distances in a carbon neutral way. Because hydrogen has a lower volumetric energy density, the visual appearance of future aircraft will likely change. This is to better accommodate hydrogen storage solutions that will be bulkier than existing jet fuel storage tanks. From hydrogen propulsion ( via direct burn or fuel cells) to hydrogen-based synthetic SAF, from pod configuration to blended-wing aircraft, The Company is evaluating, maturing and validating radical technological breakthroughs which could be hosted on its zero-emission aircraft by 2035.
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Airbus / Registration Document 2020
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