AIRBUS - 2020 Universal Registration Document
1. Information on the Company’s Activities / 1.2 Non-Financial Information
The idea for a compact “ ying taxi” first came from the Company’s desire to take city commuting into the air in a sustainable way. The Company began by rethinking traditional aircraft architecture, creating a multirotor design based on electric motors. Thus, CityAirbus was born. To date, the CityAirbus sub-scale model has own more than 100 test ights. Zero-emission High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Today, the Company is advancing solar cell technology to enable unmanned aerial vehicles to stay aloft in the stratosphere for – – developing advanced photovoltaic solar panels that are lighter, more exible and capable of capturing more energy per m 2 of surface; – – converting captured solar energy into electrical energy to power an electric-propulsion system and other onboard equipment; – – harnessing solar energy into a rechargeable energy storage system, thereby enabling the aircraft to fly at night with unlimited autonomy. The Company’s agship programme, Zephyr , is a high-altitude pseudo-satellite that is powered exclusively by solar energy. 3. Investing in Smart ATM Solutions and Optimised Operations The Company is developing digital solutions (through its subsidiary Navblue and its digital platform Skywise), and will continue to support its customers to minimise fuel consumption with best operational practices, innovative services and training. Improving operations and infrastructure could contribute to emission reductions by around 10%. The Company supports initiatives aimed at reducing ATM inef ficiencies (such as the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research programme – SESAR), while working on disruptive practices, such as formation ying. In November 2019, the Company launched the fello’ y project which aims to demonstrate the technical, operational and commercial viability of two aircraft ying together for long-haul ights. Through fello’ y, a follower aircraft will retrieve the energy lost by the wake of a leader aircraft, by ying in the smooth updraft of air it creates. This provides lift to the follower aircraft allowing it to decrease engine thrust and therefore reduce fuel consumption in the range of 5-10% per trip. By end 2020, the Company’s fello’ y had signed agreements with two airline customers; Frenchbee and SAS Scandinavian Airlines, as well as three Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) to demonstrate its operational feasibility; France’s DSNA (Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne), the UK’s NATS (National Air Traffic Services) and European Eurocontrol. In December 2020, after two years of experimental entry-into- service programmes and more than 20,000 ights carried out by about 90 A320 aircraft from six airlines (Air France, British Airways, easyJet, Iberia, Novair and Wizzair), the “4D-Trajectory Based Operations” project led by the Company alongside more than 15 partners in the frame of the SESAR programme came to an end. The project focused on analysing the real- time transmission of four-dimensional trajectory data (latitude, longitude, altitude, time) as a solution to better inform ATM operations, and significantly improve aircraft emissions. extended periods – using only sunlight as energy. The Company’s work in solar ight is focused on:
4. Developing and Deploying SAF The main driver of the Company’s commercial aircraft products emissions and CO 2 intensity is the energy source. Although they only represented a small share of aviation’s current fuel use in 2020, SAF (biomass-based or synthetic) are key in the air transport sector decarbonisation strategy. Since 2008, the Company has acted as an important catalyst in the certification process, demonstration ights, partnerships and policy advocacy of sustainable jet fuel. Since 2011, over 250,000 commercial ights have used SAF. All the Company commercial aircraft are already certified to y with a fuel blend including up to 50% of SAF, and the Company ambition is to reach a certified 100% blending capacity. SAF produced using the most advanced pathways can provide CO 2 emission reduction of up to 80%. This means that today, the emissions from aircraft currently offered by the Company could be reduced by 40% if their potential was fully used. As detailed above (see Section “Aviation industry targets”), the Company supports decarbonisation scenarios which include an ambitious rollout of SAF. Under such scenarios, the Company estimates that products delivered in 2020 could see their life-time emissions reduced by around 10% thanks to the gradual introduction of SAF during their operational life. However, today the price and global production capacity remain the main constraints preventing operators from massively incorporating these types of fuels. The rapid scale-up of SAF plays a major role in aviation’s decarbonisation scenarios, decreasing emissions of the Company’s product in use. The Company therefore supports policies that would incentivise their usage. 5. Encouraging Temporary CO 2 Emission Compensation Schemes Final ly, temporary CO 2 emission compensation wi l l be instrumental to stabilising aviation’s emissions in the medium term until disruptive solutions reach maturity. For that reason, the Company supports ICAO’s CORSIA as the only global market- based measure for international aviation. Sustainable Space Products Beyond commercial aviation, the Company’s Defence and Space Division delivers satellites and intelligence that informs decision making on significant environmental issues. Its aerial imagery of climatic and environmental changes around the planet reveals the scale of change and dependencies at work. The Company is working to ensure a sustainable space environment to prevent space debris and protect valuable national assets, such as satellites, that are in orbit around the globe. Airbus Defence and Space is the first company to test technologies which clear out space junk and avoid spacecraft collisions. Three main debris-removal technologies have been tested in orbit: harpoon, net and vision-based navigation. As space law evolves, the Company is committed to ensuring its products meet these new regulations (such as the French Space Operations Law requiring to avoid satellite collisions and ensure the safe removal of spacecraft from useful orbit at the end of life) as it believes in the importance of promoting sustainable space.
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Airbus / Registration Document 2020
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