Saab Leads Fossil-free Aviation Project

Saab, together with Swedish aviation industry partners and universities, will lead a project aiming to establish a technical roadmap towards fossil-free aviation. The project is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and focuses primarily on the Swedish and Nordic market.

Fossil-free aviation is a major challenge within the aviation industry and a number of crossroads for aircraft technology and infrastructure must be taken into consideration. The project aims to provide an objective and balanced overview of the available options for achieving the goal of fossil-free aviation, through a number of technical solutions, which could pave the way for fossil-free aviation within the next 25 years.

”We are glad to be able to contribute with Saab’s experience and knowledge of the aviation industry from the past 80 years. Together with the other partners, we look forward to describing the possibilities and challenges we face on the journey towards fossil-free aviation,” says Ann-Kristin Adolfsson, Head of Strategy within Saab’s business area Aeronautics.

The study will provide decision makers with valuable insights into sustainable aviation, by presenting clear and transparent solutions based on technical evaluations of transport, the national ecosystem and infrastructure, as well as sustainability targets and social and economic welfare.

“Although a number of research reports about electric aviation and biofuel have been published, there have not been any comparative studies taking a broader view on technical solutions aimed at the Nordic market. This project provides a unique possibility to position Sweden’s aviation know-how at the forefront, while providing a firm foundation and roadmap for future Swedish research investments in fossil-free aviation,” says Christopher Jouannet, Senior Engineer Advanced Design within Saab’s business area Aeronautics and manager of the fossil-free aviation project.

The project is a collaboration between leading Swedish aviation companies and universities. Saab and GKN Aerospace are participating from the industry side while Linköping University and Chalmers University of Technology represent academia. The research network Swedish Aerospace Research Center (SARC) is supporting the work as well as the distribution of the results. Transparency is a key value within the project and the reports, data and publications will be made public and accessible for the research community. The project will also work with representatives from Innovair, Svenskt Flyg (Swedish Aviation) and Aerospace Cluster Sweden.