News Releases

No. 66/07
June 13, 2007

EU Commission Proposes Public-Private Partnership For Greening Europe's Aviation Industry

The European Commission has today put forward a proposal to create a major new public-private research partnership to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. The "Clean Sky" Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) aims to deliver innovative technologies and solutions to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise for the next generation of civil aircraft.

The JTI's objective is to reduce CO² emissions by 40 percent, NOx emissions by 60 percent and noise by 50 percent. The JTI will concentrate on three main aircraft types (long range, regional, rotor craft), aero-engines and "systems." It is hoped that new technologies arising from this JTI will be developed in time to be incorporated into the major airline fleet renewal cycle expected in 2015.

The JTI will pool industry and Commission resources into a broadly targeted research program in line with the Commission's policy of orienting large-scale research programs towards common strategic research goals. This new approach will create critical mass for European research and innovation, streamline project funding, and should bring research results on stream more quickly.

The Seventh Research Framework Program will contribute €800 million, a sum that will be matched by industry. In July last year, seven major European aerospace manufacturers committed themselves to participate in this innovative initiative.
 

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