The themes of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and organizing
VISIONS AND TECHNOLOGY DIRECTIONS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR
In this section, visions shared widely among the aviation sector and directions oftechnology development are discussed on the basis of the experts’ talks gathered from four international meetings for aviation and the environment. The meetings were held between September 2009 and May 2010 by 2 major international organizations that are connected strongly with European and North American leading industries and institutes and by authors. The brief summary of each organizations and the meetings are as follows. It is interesting to note that, in each meeting, we can find the increase of the sector’s interest on the environment issue.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), which is the world’s largest technical society for aerospace, held “Inside Aerospace”, an annual international forum for aviation and space leaders. While the themes of recent meetings were about the aerospace workforce, the meetings held on the 11th and 12th, May, 2010, at Arlington, in Washington D. C, were dedicated to “a candid discussion of how to make aviation more energy efficient and “green” and how to effectively use aerospace technology to understand and limit climate change” (AIAA homepage). The AIAA invited key speakers from government, airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, oil companies, academia, research institutes, non-governmental organizations, and even the Air Forces. Most speakers came from NorthAmerica, but some speakers were also from Europe. Some of presentation documents can be downloaded from the AIAA homepage.
The International Council of the Aeronautical Science (ICAS) is the sole global organization for a free international exchange of information on aeronautical science and engineering. The Council holds an International Congress in the fields of Aeronautical Sciences every two years (ICAS homepage) and receives hundreds of aeronautical researchers and student participants. It also holds an International Workshop biennially for “international experts in the field to exchange views and to identify further areas of potential cooperation”. In 2005, the theme for the international workshop was, “Towards a Global Vision on Aviation Safety and Security”, in 2007, the theme was “UAV-Airworthiness, certification and access to the airspace”, and in 2009, “Aviation and Environment”. It was not until recently that environmental themes were considered important enough to discuss as a main theme. On the 28th of September 2009, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the workshop was organized with invited speakers from government, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, academia, and non-governmental organizations.
Most speakers came from the Europe, but one speakers was from the U. S. All ofthe presentation documents from this 2009 meeting in Amsterdam can be downloaded from the ICAS homepage.
The Centre for Aviation Innovation Research (CAIR) is an inter-disciplinary organization within the University of Tokyo, established in August, 2009. CAIR’s main objectives are to research aviation innovation from a wide range of views, including aeronautics, aviation policy, and economics, and to help promote and design the aviation industry as one of the leading industries in Japan. One concrete objective is to contribute to realize maximum utilization of airspace by developing a set of policy recommendations. CAIR held an “International Seminar on Aviation and Climate Change” on February 18th, 2010, and an “Aviation Environment Workshop” on May 19th, 2010. The former seminar invited experts and researchers from Japan and Europe to discuss the technological feasibility of attaining emission reduction targets as well as future research directions on the issue. The latter workshop organized by CAIR and the Boeing Company invited experts from the U. S. and Japan to share their knowledge of technologies that have enabled significant reductions in aircraft noise and emissions to date. Technologies being developed for further reduction in aviation’s environmental footprint were discussed. The workshop was initially planned as a workshop for noise issues, but in the course of preparation, the theme was replaced with wider environmental issues, which also included the subject of emissions. This fact implies also the recent increase in the sector’s attention to the climate change. Both meetings invited governments, airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, oil companies, academia, and research institutes. Half of the speakers came from Japan and the others from Europe and the U. S. Some of presentation documents can be downloaded from the CAIR homepage.
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Table 1. World aviation goals
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Visions for the Future of Aviation
Before discussing the major activities ofthe aviation sector for sustainability, we would like to present visions and strategies besides the Kyoto Protocol, which serve as a frame for each of the activities. These strategies are summarized in Table 1.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which “represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic”, created and have been promoting a four - pillar strategy since 2007 to achieve a vision of “carbon-neutral growth in the mid-term and to build a zero emission commercial aircraft within the next 50 years” (IATA homepage). The four - pillar strategy, ‘Improved technology’, ‘Effective operations’, ‘Efficient infrastructure’ and ‘Positive economic measures’ is comprehensive (Haag, 2009). The IATA, as a representative of the airline industry, set three goals as follows prior to the
ICAO: (1) CO2 efficiency by 1.5 per cent per annum from 2009 until 2020, (2) carbon neutral growth from 2020, and (3) reduction of carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 compared to the 2005 levels in June 2009.
The “Next Generation Air Transportation System” (NextGen) is an air transport management concept for the year 2025 and beyond, which meets US future air transportation safety, security, mobility, and environmental needs. The NextGen concept was enacted in 2003 by the Congress of the United States. An important benefit of Next - Gen is to provide environmental protection (FAA homepage). NextGen uses a five-pillar strategy of ‘advances in science and modeling’, ‘operational improvements’, ‘new technologies’, ‘renewable fuels’ and ‘policy initiatives including the environmental management system (EMS) to address environmental impacts. On the other hand, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in November 2007, presented the tech
nological goals for future-generation aircraft that should be in service from 2030 to 2035 (NASA homepage).
“European Aeronautics: A Vision for 2020” and the Strategic Research Agendas (SRA1, SRA2, Addendum) of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) exist to “better serve societies’ needs while becoming global leaders in the field of aeronautics”. The challenges for the European aviation industry include quality & affordability, the environment, safety, and the efficiency ofthe air transport system and security. The ambitious environmental goals are 50% CO, reduction, 80% NO reduction, and
2x
50% noise reduction compared with 2000 levels (ACARE homepage).
Japan does not have a clear shared vision throughout the national aviation industry. A target for domestic aviation, however, has arisen from the national sector-based approach under the Kyoto Protocol Target Attainment plan. The target is 15% improvement in energy efficiency (fuel consumption per pax-km performed).
With the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 15 close at hand, ICAO finally reached the first globally harmonized agreement on reducing the sector’s impact on climate change at the High-level Meeting on International Aviation and Climate Change in Oct 2009 (ICAO, 2009). The ICAO Programme of Action on International Aviation and Climate Change has a 2% annual fuel efficiency target for improvement up to 2050 and further discussions are expected on even more ambitious goals.
These high targets are well shared and stimulate integrated development approaches between agents. There are dozens of technical and operational innovation proposals which include what could not be expected from development approaches by a single agent, such as open rotor engines.
