Mark Scully, Head of Technology - Advanced Systems and Propulsion at the Aerospace Technology Institute

Alison Meir, Head of Business Development at WMG centre High Value Manufacturing Catapult

According to NASA Global Climate Change, the planet’s joint hottest surface temperature was recorded in 2020. Over the last 40 years, as technology has advanced across the globe and new ways of life have been established, increasing amounts of carbon dioxide emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere has led to severe global warming levels throughout the last seven years.

Although this is a global issue, the UK has put strategies and plans in place to systematically identify ways to tackle global warming as a nation. As identified in the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector is a core objective and presents an opportunity for substantial change.

Powering the aviation sector into Net Zero

As outlined by a recent Climate Change Committee report, aviation emissions accounted for 7% of UK Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2018 and were 88% above 1990 levels. In order to achieve a reduction in UK emissions of 78% by 2035, relative to 1990 levels, and support the UK’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050, it is essential that investment is placed in the development of new technologies that promote the departure from fossil fuel burning combustion engines, and preserve energy, fuel and therefore the planet’s resources.

Although aviation poses unique challenges unlike other transport sectors, with mandatory criteria such as high power and energy requirements, low weight, and extra strength and safety, it is essential that we overcome challenges by looking at the key opportunities in order to develop a set of calculated and measurable targets for change.

Electrification in the aerospace sector is a key enabler for combatting climate change. Based on this, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and WMG centre HVM Catapult, University of Warwick have teamed up alongside industry contributors Rolls-Royce Plc, Airbus, Collins Aerospace, Electroflight, and Yasa to gather information from the aerospace sector around the current industry focuses on electrification technologies.

Harnessing information from 86 companies of varying sizes and profiles through four targeted events, the ‘Aerospace Electrification: Accelerating the Opportunities in the UK’ project partners have launched a thought leadership report to set a baseline for future development and help define where the opportunities lie for the UK supply chain and power the aviation sector into Net Zero.

Professor Simon Weeks, Chief Technology Officer, Aerospace Technology Institute said:

“We have been working to unlock the potential in the UK supply chain, engaging with companies already in the sector to ensure they are developing the right technologies to meet future needs. As this report identifies, it is also important to engage companies that are successful in other sectors; we need to create the ambition to work in aerospace and transfer expertise and innovative technologies.

“This report is the latest of our joint activities with WMG. They are a leader in electric technologies and are widely recognised as an industrial hub for electrification. In WMG we have found a great organisation with which to collaborate, and I look forward to continuing our work together.”

The report summarises the current state of aerospace electrification and provides insight to help develop roadmaps, support funding infrastructures and guide research programmes, using trends and priorities to create a set of recommendations that the UK can deliver against globally.

Marc Holme, Senior Director, Electronic Controls and Motor Systems at Collins Aerospace said:

"The UK aerospace industry has a long history of innovation and cutting-edge development that spans more than 100 years. The global need for emission reduction sets future challenges for cleaner aviation, that UK industry is well placed to meet. Through enhanced collaboration across sectors and the development of key technologies, centred on highly efficient electrical architectures and the associated infrastructure, the UK can be well placed for the next 100 years of aviation innovation."

Martin Dowson, Head of Battery Systems Engineering and Research at WMG, University of Warwick added:

"It’s essential that we develop an aligned strategic approach to the funding and research portfolio for electrified aviation to ensure we anchor the knowledge, skills, OEMs and supply chain in the UK for the exciting emerging sector of the industry, and these ATI-WMG sponsored events help to align the key stakeholders on the priorities across the sector."

The report looks at the challenges involved for the UK aerospace supply chain in designing and manufacturing future hybrid or fully electric aircraft in the context of three main focus areas; of the Energy Storage, Machines and Drives, and System Integration.

Current challenges in the UK aerospace sector

Energy Storage

Firstly, from an energy storage perspective, the report identifies how timely investment is required within the next few years in association with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which could create first mover advantages internationally by exploiting leading UK expertise through upskilling and advancing critical competencies and creating new open source aerospace facilities. This would enable and progress the development and end-to-end certification requirements for energy storage to ensure the UK can effectively compete, and perhaps even lead globally.

To ensure the UK can catch up globally, augmenting UK hydrogen and fuel cell R&D and policies/standards, as well as making the supply chain more competitive will play a major part in this. The industry is at a tipping point as countries vie for position, so judicious action is needed.

Standardisation through cross-sector industry collaboration is also deemed a priority in the context of energy storage and safety. Few cell suppliers are developing the required niche volume and high quality next generation cell chemistries that are critical to responding to the specific safety and propulsion needs of aerospace, which are more stringent than any other sector. Equally, ensuring standardisation in infrastructure, and critical ‘State of health’ or standard diagnostic measurements to ensure operational flight safety is an important development area.

Machines and Drives

Machines and Drives have a diverse set of requirements to accommodate the new hybrid/electric platforms, with investment needed to support the R&D development as well as the digital supply chain required for this new capability and capacity for the aviation market.

This will involve increased modelling and simulation, automation and digital manufacturing as well as the latest requirements for certification (working with the CAA), for which upskilling, development and investment is needed, similar to energy storage.

System integration is now, more than ever, highly critical as systems become more digital, complex and interdependent, and is fully assimilated across all aspects of Machines and Drives. High performance, reliable machines are required across all platforms, creating new and expanding market opportunities, with scope to help future-proof Net Zero propulsion.

Supply chain development and collaborative projects will play a major role in stimulating and developing opportunities, as well as investment in large scale production facilities (Gigafactories) for e-machines, and new technologies to address the diverse needs specific to aerospace electrification.

Government funded programs such as ‘Driving the Electric Revolution’ must be developed cross-sector to support aerospace and the sector’s high value, low volume machine needs, as well as standards for testing and certification to support the end product.

System Integration

The new electrification platforms need increasing support and technology development to enable complex system integration, which is required for hybrid/electric flight.

Safety and reliability, best practice, certification development and supporting regulation are all key to ensuring future air worthiness, and securing the UK competitive position on the world stage.

A digitally integrated supply chain will be needed to deliver solutions, acknowledging the latest new entrants, identifying cross sector skills, and embracing new ways of workings to address the whole vehicle architecture, system design, thermal management, technical system boundaries and overall system optimisation.

The key role of system integrator by the OEM / Primes is ever-more critical, with this breakdown of originally commercial boundaries. Increasing collaboration and national capability development will play a big role in ensuring both opportunity and positioning for the UK supply chain.

Key support from CAA, DER and ATI programs will be a catalyst for UK exploitation in this arena, using collaborative project test environments to validate technology and upskill. The UK needs to build on existing strengths and competencies across OEMs/Tier 1s and whole aircraft build, as well as optimise those of emerging new entrants driving disruption and innovation.

Paul Harris, Chief of Technology - Intelligent and Optimised Systems, at Rolls-Royce Plc said:

"As with many advances in aerospace a specific technology development may be the catalyst however the understanding and implementation of a fully integrated system gives the opportunity of a viable product or service, this is proving true for electrification in aerospace."

Electrifying the UK’s aerospace sector: The requirements

Research and Development

Enabling the brightest ideas to flourish at the early stage of development is crucial. Investing in research, new technologies, facilities, experts and solutions throughout the next one to two years will enable UK supply chains to capitalise on opportunities in this emerging market. Only through developing the right technologies in focus areas such as propulsion systems and environmentally efficient energy sources, can we meet future needs and encourage the establishment of new companies and demonstrators in the UK.

Doug Campbell, Technical Director at Electroflight said:

“Investment is urgently needed to deliver cutting edge energy storage capability and certification in the UK, to drive our knowledge and understanding forward in this critical area. Funding that allows for this rapid acceleration, helping upskill the sector and prepare for electric flight will bring exceptional economic and environmental benefits to the UK. The workshops and this report have helped bring the industry together and focus on what is needed to secure the UK’s position in this emerging field."

Policy and standards

Embedding the formal infrastructure and standardisation needed to scale electrification in aerospace can only be done through policymaking and global standards. This will enable the alignment of testing, certifications and governing body requirements with emerging electrification technologies to give consistency and standardisation. This is particularly prevalent as the UK looks to embed the learnings from other successful sectors such as the automotive industry, and apply these in an aerospace context. This will also give a form of structure and guidance for R&D in the UK across educational and industry institutions. Standards for battery and system certification are still being defined globally, which provides an opportunity for the UK to take the initiative alongside the CAA.

Industry collaboration

Cross-sector cohesion from OEMs and sharing design and optimisation capability throughout the supply chain will be a key way of transferring knowledge and best practice into this emerging field. Also, as electrified, hybrid and hydrogen fuelled systems become more complex, there will be a requirement to establish sophisticated technical system boundaries, requiring collaboration and drawing on the experiences of established UK industries that are perhaps more advanced in terms of implementing electrification, such as the automotive sector.

People

If the UK is to compete globally, as well as implementing the right technologies and strategies, we will need the right personnel in the right places. Upskilling and reskilling will be key here. National initiatives such as the Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge support electrification generally, but also niche specialist design tools, processes and skills are needed in the aerospace sector specifically in terms of how electrification technology requirements are addressed for aviation.

Securing opportunities

Capitalising on opportunities to develop personnel, skills and training, and bolstering investment in facilities will help aerospace electrification to grow as an emerging area. Getting the balance right here is essential if the UK is to benefit fully from the advanced air mobility platforms expected to enter service in the mid-to-late 2020s.

As the UK now jostles for position on the world stage and looks ahead to the prospect of ambitious developments such as advanced air mobility platforms and machine technology developments such as Gigafactories, cohesive and strategic investment must be placed in the right areas.

Read the ‘Aerospace Electrification: Accelerating the Opportunities in the UK’ report here, and find out more about aerospace electrification research at WMG centre HVM Catapult, University of Warwick.