Embraer partners with Widerøe, Rolls-Royce for zero-emission research

Embraer partners with Widerøe, Rolls-Royce for zero-emission research

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

SINGAPORE – Embraer, a global aerospace company inked partnership with Widerøe Zero and Rolls-Royce, Thursday, February 17 for a 12-month cooperation research study on a zero-emission regional aircraft in the context of pre-competitive research and development that addresses passenger requirements to stay connected in a post Covid-19 world, but do so sustainably and seeks to accelerate the knowledge of the technologies necessary for this transition.

According to the study plan, such technologies will allow national governments to continue to support passenger mobility while reusing most of the existing infrastructure in a more sustainable way.

Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation said, technological innovations can potentially enable clean and renewable energy to power a new era of regional aviation. “The aim of our collaboration is to create new flight solutions that serve expanded market segments in a sustainable manner. I strongly believe this could lead to fully sustainable connectivity, including (very) short haul intercity operations,” Meijer added.

Advances in scientific research can make clean and renewable energy a major enabler of a new era of regional aviation and the three companies will share their combined in-depth knowledge of aircraft design, market demand, operations and propulsion solutions to further develop their understanding of zero-emission technologies and how they can be matured and applied to future regional aircraft.

The study will cover a wide range of applications for new propulsion technologies to examine a range of potential solutions – including all-electric, hydrogen fuel cell or hydrogen fueled gas turbine powered aircraft.

Andreas Aks, CEO of Widerøe Zero, a subsidiary of Widerøe AS said, the company is excited to take part in this highly interesting research. “Working with the world’s leading aerospace technology firms, our aim is to understand how viable business can be built around zero emissions regional concepts, and to advise the manufacturers on operational requirements and customer expectations to design the best possible and sustainable air mobility service,” he said.

“This is an exciting project which will shape our thinking on solutions for net-zero regional operation. As pioneers of power, this is the kind of engineering challenge that we relish. We have an excellent working relationship with both Embraer and Wideroe, and look forward to deepening our collaboration,” Chris Cholerton, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce said.

Embraer is a global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil with businesses in Commercial and Executive aviation, Defense & Security and Agricultural Aviation.

Widerøe Zero is an Air Mobility Incubator set up for a revolution in aviation. Owned by the Aviation Group Widerøe AS and headquartered in Norway that tackles all the regulatory, commercial and financing challenges involved in purchasing and entering new aircraft concepts into revenue service.

Rolls-Royce Holdings pioneers the power that matters to connect, power and protect society that pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 2030, and that all its products are compatible with net zero by 2050. (Photos: Embraer/Google Images)