Aircraft electrical system for carbon free flight – Technology review

Abstract

The aviation industry sustains jobs, trade and tourism. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a systemic shock that has not only halted air travel worldwide, but has made people reevaluate priorities, namely, our own health and safety and that of our families, friends, and loved ones. Aviation plays a key role in this response. During the pandemic, we counted on aviation for delivering vital air cargo services to boost global supply chains, evacuating stranded passengers, and enabling time-critical life-saving emergency and humanitarian response missions. About 12 million passengers were carried on every single day in 2018. Despite big external shocks it has experienced continuous growth. However, two major events in the last two years have significantly influenced this trend, Fridays for future and the Corona pandemic. These events have the potential to influence future aircraft (system) design. Game changer solutions to enable carbon free flight, quick re-configuration and rate adaptation are required. Based on seven dimensions, the effect on the aircraft electrical system due to the need for game-changer solutions will be evaluated. The results indicate that the effort in research can be reduced in some dimensions while it is recommended to be increased in others.