About EFACA

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a strong recovery of air travel, with the aeronautical industry having the largest ever order books from airlines seeking to modernize and expand their fleets. The growth of air travel requires that environmentally friendliness be ensured, while preserving the traditional attributes of aviation local to worldwide coverage with fast, comfortable, safe and efficient aircraft. The project EFACA “Environmentally Friendly Aviation for all Classes of Aircraft” considers the technologies relevant to the greening of aviation and the contribution to environmental targets of a new generation of aircraft.  

Moreover carbon emissions and environmental concerns gradually came to the forefront since the first commercial airplane took off in 1914. Today, it’s on everyone’s mind. The aviation industry is under mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions by 50 % by 2050, compared to 2005 levels. In this context, the EU-funded EFACA project will support the greening of the EU’s aviation industry and the corresponding policies by testing a hybrid turbo-electric propulsion system for a propeller-driven regional aircraft.

A consortium of 11 organisations undertakes activities for EFACA with the coordinator being PEDECE. The project’s budget is 3.8 million Euros with activities having started on 1st January 2023 and are scheduled to end on 31st December 2026.

EU policies

EFACA project implements these objectives by taking as overall guiding objectives the EU and international policies for environmentally friendly aviation (EFA), of which we highlight six:

1

The “New Green Deal” objective of carbon-neutral aviation in agreement with ICAO net-zero 

2

The “Fit for 55” objective of 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030

3

The ACARE Goals in Flightpath 2050

4

The objectives and recommendations of the preceding project PARE perspectives for aviation research in Europe

5

The European Partnership for Clean Aviation (EPCA) initiative focusing on activities at TRL4 and beyond

6

The importance of complete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) including design, testing, certification, production, operations, and maintenance

Project Outreach

In addition to the CO2 objectives, non-CO2 emissions (water vapour, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, aerosols and particles, contrails and contrail cirrus) are also considered in this project, as well as the noise disturbance of near airport communities.