Clean Industrial Deal in focus at European Civil Aeronautics Summit 2024

This week, the European Civil Aeronautics Summit brought together key leaders and stakeholders in Brussels to discuss the path towards a sustainable and competitive future for European aviation. Co-organised by ASD, the summit highlighted the sector’s pivotal role in achieving the EU’s climate goals and maintaining its global leadership. The event underscored the need for collaborative strategies to drive progress under the European Green Deal and the forthcoming Clean Industrial Deal.

Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus and ASD President, opened the summit with a powerful call to action, emphasising the sector's critical role in European prosperity and its transition to a sustainable future. "This is one of the few sectors where Europe is a world leader – something we must cherish, protect, and support”, he said, highlighting the industry's contributions to innovation, technology, and growth. Faury also drew attention to the sheer scale of aviation today, noting that "between 400,000 and 500,000 people are in the air right now on an Airbus aircraft – equivalent to a large city flying above us”. Addressing the decarbonisation challenge, Faury stressed the need for global collaboration to transition to sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen. "Decarbonisation is a global challenge that requires coordination across governments, regulators, fuel producers, airlines, and many others”.

A European Industrial Deal to complement the Green Deal

Following Guillaume Faury's opening remarks was a high-level panel discussion titled "A European Industrial Deal to Complement the Green Deal."  The panellists included Faury; Klaus Schneider, CTO of Liebherr-Aerospace & Transportation SAS; Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, joining online; and Beatriz Yordi, Director for Carbon Markets and Clean Mobility at DG CLIMA.

The panel explored the need for a new industrial deal to support the EU's ambitious decarbonisation goals, particularly in the challenging aviation sector, and opened with a discussion on the innovation and investment gap between Europe and other regions, particularly in supporting the development of close-to-market technologies. Roberto Cingolani, drawing on his experience as Italy's former Minister for Ecological Transition, cautioned against non-technology-neutral approaches, advocating for a diverse range of solutions rather than relying on "silver bullets."

Regulatory burden and competitiveness

Faury and Schneider voiced concerns about the increasing regulatory burden faced by European industries, arguing that it hinders competitiveness and discourages investment. Faury said that the sheer volume of regulations is "unmanageable".  He advocated for a reassessment and simplification of existing regulations to enable businesses to thrive while pursuing decarbonisation goals. Liebherr-Aerospace & Transportation’s Klaus Schneider echoed these concerns, highlighting the cascading effect of regulations down the supply chain and emphasising the need for a balance between regulatory measures and business viability.

Responding to a journalist’s question about energy taxation, Faury argued that there needed to be a global level playing field with consistent regulatory and taxation frameworks to ensure fair competition.

Optimism for the future

Despite the challenging issues raised, Beatriz Yordi concluded with a message of optimism, emphasising the economic and societal benefits of decarbonisation and the need for fairness in competition between transportation modes. She expressed confidence in the potential for global solutions and the importance of continued multilateral efforts to address climate change.

Interview with EASA’s Florian Guillermet

Next on the day’s agenda was an exclusive interview between Florian Guillermet, Executive Director, EASA; and Jens Flottau, Executive Editor, Commercial Aviation, Informa Markets, which explored current challenges in the regulatory landscape to support safety, sustainability, and innovation in aviation.

Guillermet emphasised that safety must always come first, embedded in the way companies operate within the aviation system, with a strong safety culture present at all levels. "We can never assume that because it was safe yesterday, it will be safe today and tomorrow.” "Our environment is changing; technology is changing; generations are changing. So, we must keep a constant eye on safety." With new technologies, Guillermet sees an opportunity to enhance safety data collection and further improve safety standards, which remains his top priority.

Sustainability is another key challenge for EASA. "We need to respond to the proposals and solutions coming from the industry," he said, referencing EASA's role in certifying new systems and products designed to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.

On the topic of regulation, Guillermet emphasised the importance of focusing on compliance that prioritises safety and innovation, not compliance for the sake of compliance. "After 20 years of implementing regulations, we can look back and understand what is providing added value versus what is just compliance for the sake of compliance". He explained that EASA is working closely with national authorities and a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that regulations serve a meaningful purpose. He underscored the challenge of balancing regulation with innovation. "If we set regulatory requirements too early, we could stifle innovation," he explained. "If we come in too strong at the wrong time, there won’t be space for innovation. If we’re too late, we won’t give the market enough visibility."

The future of European civil aviation research

The final panel discussed the future of European civil aviation research. The panel featured Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director of the Clean Planet Directorate at DG RTD; Eric Dalbies, CTO of Safran; Gary Way, Chief Technology Partnerships Officer at Rolls-Royce; José Vicente de los Mozos, CEO of Indra Sistemas; Axel Krein, Executive Director of Clean Aviation; and Andreas Boschen, Executive Director of SESAR-JU. 

Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director of the Clean Planet Directorate at DG RTD, opened the discussion by emphasising Europe’s commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent. Reflecting on years of collaboration between the EU and industry through initiatives like Clean Sky, she highlighted the importance of prioritising disruptive innovations over incremental changes. “We are not starting from scratch,” van der Vlies noted. “It’s essential to co-invest in a common strategic research and innovation agenda that accelerates decarbonisation while maintaining industrial competitiveness.” 

Leveraging partnerships for innovation 

Eric Dalbies, CTO of Safran, highlighted the unprecedented intensity of research efforts in the aviation sector, referring to it as the “fourth revolution of flight.” He praised the leverage effect of public–private partnerships, which amplify research capabilities by encouraging consortia formation and supply chain inclusion. “Technology is great, science is great, but at the end of the day, if we do not have products, we do not create value,” Dalbies said.

Air traffic management and digitalisation 

“Our goal is to make Europe the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in by 2045.”   Andreas Boschen, Executive Director of SESAR-JU outlined SESAR-JU’s vision for a “digital European sky”, focusing on digitalisation and automation to optimise air traffic management. He highlighted progress in technologies like digital remote towers and cross-border free routes, which are making air travel ever more efficient and sustainable.

Hydrogen and future fuels 

Axel Krein, Executive Director of Clean Aviation, discussed the exploration of hydrogen as a scalable alternative to kerosene and SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). “Hydrogen seems to be the cheaper option, whether burned directly in engines or used to produce electricity via fuel cells,” he explained. He also discussed a new certification readiness concept developed with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to help bridge the gap between research and market deployment. 

Overcoming challenges in implementation 

Gary Way, Chief Technology Partnerships Officer at Rolls-Royce, reflected on the industry’s journey from Clean Sky to Clean Aviation and stressed the need to balance technological innovation with public confidence. “Revolutionary technologies must be market-ready from day one, with the utmost safety,” he said. He also emphasised the importance of engaging SMEs and the supply chain in fostering innovation and mitigating strategic material supply challenges. 

José Vicente de los Mozos, CEO of Indra Sistemas, offered valuable insights into the complexity of transitioning to a unified, sustainable, and digital airspace. Highlighting the challenge of replacing legacy systems, De los Mozos said, “It’s like replacing the engine of a plane while the plane is flying.” He emphasised the critical need for trustful public-private cooperation to navigate these challenges effectively. De los Mozos explained that ensuring a successful transition requires a steadfast focus on safety-driven operations, investment in skills, and, most importantly, collaboration among all stakeholders in the aviation ecosystem. His call to action was to reinforce Europe’s leadership in air traffic management, and its ability to maintain this position through collective effort and innovation.

A key theme that emerged from this panel was the importance of collaboration between the EU, Member States, industry, and research organisations. “We need to work together as a Team Europe,” van der Vlies concluded.   

A vision for civil aeronautics under the next EU mandate

Closing the Civil Aeronautics Summit, MEP Christophe Grudler’s speech highlighted the urgent need for Europe to defend its global leadership in aviation amidst growing competition from the US and China. "If we sit still, these competitors will overtake us – not because they are better, but because they are faster and more coordinated," he warned. 

Grudler identified three priorities: accelerating clean aircraft development, scaling up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production within Europe to reduce dependency on imports, and strengthening supply chain resilience. He praised initiatives like the European Alliance for Zero Emission Aviation and the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, but called for enhanced funding and alignment across Member States. He also urged further modernisation of airspace management through SESAR deployment and greater integration of European satellite systems like Galileo and EGNOS. 

He concluded by emphasising the need for a unified European aviation strategy to secure the sector’s competitiveness, warning, “Fragmentation costs us time, resources, and momentum.”