Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking

Transforming aviation into a lean and green, climate-neutral mode of transport by 2050 is the ultimate goal for the aviation sector. This is a serious and pressing challenge at a time when the aviation industry is only starting to recover from unprecedented damaged caused by the Covid pandemic.

Although aviation has an impressive track record when it comes to reducing emissions, the growth in this sector and the rising demand for flights has outpaced any environmental gains made. By 2050, it’s predicted that the demand for flights will triple, compared to 2019 levels. If nothing is done to counteract the impact that those flights will have on the environment, emissions released will double.

The Clean Aviation public-private partnership will take on this challenge. We will push the boundaries in aviation innovation to dramatically lower the impact that flying has on the environment.

Clean Aviation aims to develop, integrate and demonstrate disruptive technological innovations into new aircraft concepts by 2030 which will decrease aircraft greenhouse gas emissions by no less than 30%, compared to 2020 state-of-the-art technology, and pave the way towards climate-neutral aviation by 2050, in line with the European Green Deal’s vision.

Clean Aviation is not starting from scratch – it will build on the foundations laid by the Clean Sky and Clean Sky 2 programmes. Disruptive and daring new technologies that will enable us to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions while obviously adhering to well-established international safety standards will be the result.