Page 22 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

economic sense as well as have enough range
✈E-30H2FC to to match operator demands, use existing
airports and runways, and be able to operate
in conditions up to 39,000 feet and in tem-
peratures as low as -69 degree Celsius.

Embraer is predicting a demand for 4000 new
aircraft for fleet replacement by 2035 with
another 3000 on top of that due to operators
electing to retire existing airframes early to
adopt the new technologies instead.

Zero-Emission Goal

“Climate change is a crisis that is threatening
our peace and security, our economic well-be-
ing and our way of life…We’re exploring and
evaluating a number of new technologies to
accelerate the deployment of zero-emission
regional aircraft,” Meijer said.

The aviation industry is one of the industries
said Affonso. that has really embraced the sustainability
challenge and has set itself the goal of being
Embraer studied more than 20 concepts, before down-selecting net-zero by 2050, and Embraer seems to have
this to two concepts, both with rear-mounted engines, a T-tail, embraced the target.
and efficient, clean wings.
“While the challenges of net-zero are signif-
The Energia Hybrid concepts, E19-HE and E30-HE, could be ready icant, in less than 25 years our commercial
to enter service in 2030 and the Energia H2 Fuel Cell concepts, aircraft have already reduced fuel burn and
E19-H2FC and E30-H2FC, in 2035.
CO2 emissions by almost 50 per cent on a
While still at the evaluation phase, the architectures and technol- seat/mile basis, using only conventional fuels
ogies are being assessed for technical and commercial viability. and propulsion – I’m convinced net-zero is a
The company also has launched the Energia Advisory Group to goal we can reach,” Affonso said.
harness inputs and collaboration from partner airlines.
However, he felt that technical and infra-
Arjan Meijer, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation, structural hurdles must be overcome before
said, “I believe we have set bold but realistic goals for these hydrogen-powered flight becomes viable.
concepts to come to market. Since we announced our Energia Those obstacles include development of air-
port and related infrastructure needed to
concepts last year, we have been busy evaluating different archi- supply hydrogen.
tectures and propulsion systems. These efforts have resulted in
the updates of our concepts that we are sharing with you today.
A number of airlines are part of our Energia Advisory Group, the The Four Energia Concept
experience and knowledge they bring to the study will be key to
accelerate to the next phases.” On November 8, 2021, Embraer unveiled

Embraer’s flight to a fully sustainable aircraft fleet will start with four concepts of the Energia, its view on
sustainable, net-zero, and zero-emission
smaller commuter and regional aircraft, which by the specific aviation for 2050. The concepts included
mission characteristics may be developed earlier, delivering a the Energia Hybrid, a nine-seater with elec-
truly sustainable solution. The company feels it will allow the tric motors but a single-piston engine in the
scaling up and infusion of lower and zero carbon architectures back, plus the Energia Electric, a full-elec-
on bigger aircraft in the future while still offering a viable solution tric nine-seater. The third concept was the
for shorter-haul flights of today. Energia H2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell, a 19-seater
“Smaller aircraft are going to be the first platforms on which using fuel cells to convert hydrogen into
new propulsion systems will be introduced, simply because we electricity. The fourth was the Energia
can apply those systems more easily on a small scale before we H2 Gas Turbine, a 35-50 seater with two
put them gradually on bigger and bigger aircraft in the future,” gas turbines that used hydrogen on short
he added. flights and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
on longer flights.
Meijer stressed that sustainable aircraft will also need to make

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