UK launches new low-carbon aviation R&D project

Efforts to develop greener aviation technologies received a boost this week with the launch of a new UK R&D programme designed to improve the sector's supply chain and accelerate the development of low-carbon engine technologies.

The new programme is to be delivered by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and has secured support from a number of universities and a coalition of aerospace firms led by engineering giant Rolls Royce and including defence giant BAE Systems.

Dubbed Strategic Affordable Manufacturing in the UK with Leading Environmental Technology, or Samulet, the £90m programme is to receive £28.5m in funding from the TSB and a further £11.5m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Talks are ongoing with regional development bodies to secure additional funding.

The R&D project will focus on a range of technologies designed to limit the sector's environmental footprint and enhance productivity. In particular, it is expected to work on reducing engine fuel consumption and developing new approaches that limit raw material usage.

The announcement comes just days after a new study predicted that the decision to include aviation in the European emissions trading scheme would cost the sector up to €1.1bn (£943m) a year from 2013 unless it can deliver deep emission cuts.

"Samulet aims to ensure that the UK aero-engine industry remains competitive in the face of new 2020 emissions targets for aircraft and that it is in a position to manufacture engines for the next generation of civil aircraft," said TSB chief executive Iain Gray. "We supported this intervention because we felt it was essential that new technology advances rapidly enough in the industry to ensure that the UK retains a competitive advantage in this field."

In related news, The Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota was this week awarded a subcontract from Science Applications International Corporation to develop a new jet fuel made from algae.

The project, which is being funded through the US Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, aims to develop an aviation biofuel made entirely from algae.

A number of test flights have been undertaken by commercial airlines using a mixture of kerosene and biofuel, but there has yet to be flight using 100 per cent biofuel.