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OSE L’ISAE-SUPAERO: a long-term commitment

Publication Date

13 September 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Diversity program

Sustainability

PICs to find solutions

As part of the Innovation and Creativity Projects (PIC) to be carried out by first-year students at ISAE-SUPAERO, a number of initiatives have been launched in schools in the Toulouse Academy:

PIC “light pollution” carried out in the Antoine Pons secondary school (Chalabre) and the Mirepoix secondary school. Several explanatory sessions and brainstorming sessions were held to try and find solutions to light pollution in their respective communes, such as switching off certain streetlights in places that are not used in the evening, and running an awareness-raising campaign in the communes.
Floating wind turbine” PIC offered to a class from Tournefeuille high school. The students were able to learn from their experience how to stabilise the buoyancy of a model wind turbine at sea.
Greenhouse construction” PIC at Hubertine Auclert secondary school in Toulouse. This project, which began two years ago, was aimed at 4th year students who built a garden in the first year, with the help of students from ISAE-SUPAERO, and then built the greenhouse in the second year. This greenhouse can be used by all secondary school pupils and teachers.
Discover the work of the young people in pictures
A project to build a wind turbine also took place in the same school with a class of 5th graders. Students from the “SupaeroForEarth” student association at ISAE-SUPAERO accompanied the pupils. See the construction of the mini-wind turbine
PIC “raising awareness of sustainable development” at the Louis Pasteur secondary school in Lavelanet and the Gorge Sand secondary school in Toulouse, with the production of a Fresque du climat game using recycled paper. The youngsters discovered the Climate Fresco game by making the support themselves.

The Climate Fresk: a key awareness-raising tool

The climate fresk is a scientific, collaborative and creative workshop designed to raise awareness of climate change in a fun way. It’s educational, enabling a team to discover in a short space of time how the climate works, and the causes and consequences of climate change.

Taking part in this workshop raises awareness of the complexity of climate change, gives an overview of this vast issue and provides the keys to understanding how to take effective action, both collectively and individually.

6 climate fresks were created in various schools in the Toulouse Academy: Collège Hubertine Auclert (Toulouse), Collège Jean Jaurès (Colomiers), Cité scolaire (Mirepoix), Centre Jean Lagarde (Toulouse), Collège George Sand (Toulouse), Collège Louis Pasteur (Graulhet).

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Congress: Laurent Joly, Deputy Director of Research at ISAE-SUPAERO, talks about the Institute’s commitments

Publication Date

03 September 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Event

Sustainability

The ICAO Congress is the most important global event of the year on the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.

During this four-day event, aviation pioneers, business leaders, technical experts, researchers, innovators, representatives of civil society and public authorities defend their ambitions and their concrete projects to decarbonise international aviation.

During the event, Laurent Joly outlined the strategic commitments and projects underway at ISAE-SUPAERO.

HORIZONS: making a sustainable commitment

Making ISAE-SUPAERO a committed player in the sustainability of aviation by training engineers and managers capable of meeting this challenge, and by directing our research and innovation activities in this direction.
Giving our future graduates the keys to contribute to the public debate on the energy transition and a sustainable society, through a scientific approach and mastery of complex systems.
Continuing to reduce the carbon footprint left by our activities and our campus.

Find out more about the HORIZONS strategy

CAST web application: simulation of aviation impact trajectories

The Congress was also an opportunity for Laurent Joly to highlight the relevance of the CAST (Climate and Aviation – Sustainable Trajectories) platform , an application accessible to all that enables anyone to assess the climate impact of aviation by using levers such as traffic volume, fuel consumption per passenger-kilometre, or the decarbonisation of the fuel used.

Mermoz and ISA: contributions to the transition towards sustainability in aviation

Among the projects in progress, Laurent Joly focused on two:

The “Drone Mermoz” project, which aims to contribute to the development of breakthrough technologies for electric aviation. A zero-emission aircraft for long-distance flights.
The ISA (Institute for Sustainable Aviation) project: the forthcoming creation of a multidisciplinary institute for sustainable aviation, bringing together researchers, economists, lawyers, etc.

“ICAO brings together many players from the worlds of industry, science, innovation and training. As a major player in this ecosystem, in Training, Research and Innovation, and given the challenge of decarbonising aviation, ISAE-SUPAERO naturally had to take part in this event. On this occasion, ISAE-SUPAERO joined the international coalition for sustainable aviation created by the ICAO, alongside other European universities such as TU Delft and Cranfield University. A commitment that is aligned with the objectives pursued by the Institute in terms of sustainable aviation!”

Laurent JOLY – Deputy Director of Research at ISAE-SUPAERO

ISAE-SUPAERO Environmental Engineering Certificate: training engineers in the challenges of environmental and energy transitions

Publication Date

03 June 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Aeronautics

Certification

Sustainability

Environmental engineering certificate from ISAE-SUPAERO

Presentation of the certificate

Set up as part of the CEDAR Chair (Chair for Ecodesign of AiRcraft, funded by Airbus), the Environmental Engineering Certificate is aimed at final-year engineering students from ISAE-SUPAERO and ISAE Group schools.
During April and May, 20 students from ISAE SUPAERO and 16 students from ISAE-ENSMA took the Environmental Engineering Certificate. This 175-hour certificate, divided into 3 modules: “Environment and aeronautics” (61 hours), “Aviation of the future” (70 hours) and “Engineer in action” (44 hours), culminated in a Grand Oral on the ISAE-SUPAERO campus and remotely on 1 and 2 June. The Grand Oral was an opportunity for students to present their subjects related to the Chair’s theme in front of Airbus and the lecturers.

Certificate objectives

Understanding environmental and energy issues.
Understand the social and economic impacts and externalities associated with the energy and environmental transition.
Addressing global political and regulatory aspects.
Understand how industries are integrating these issues.

“ WHEN DEVELOPING THE PROGRAMME WITH JONATHAN PREIST AND SERGE BONNET OF AIRBUS ENGINEERING, WE WANTED TO OFFER STUDENTS SOLID THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS ON THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THEN INDICATE THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES IN THE AERONAUTICS SECTOR. WE FELT IT WAS INDISPENSABLE FOR THE STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY QUESTIONS SO THEY CAN ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY SKILLS AND HINDSIGHT BEFORE STUDYING THE DIFFERENT TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS CURRENTLY BEING PROPOSED OR STUDIED.”
Pierre-Marie GUINEHEUC – Project coordinator for the environmental engineering certificate at ISAE-SUPAERO

Testimony of Eve Jolicoeur

What have you gained from the environmental engineering certificate? What are the challenges of such training?

The certificate was a revelation for me. I was interested in environmental issues, but this certificate enabled me to understand them correctly and precisely. Through general courses and others more specific to aviation and transport, as well as a variety of speakers, we acquired solid knowledge and practical skills, such as how to carry out carbon assessments and Life Cycle Analyses. We were able to develop a critical mind, thanks in particular to exchanges with the teachers with whom we could debate. With a wide range of courses, not just on technology but also on the psychology and philosophy of technology, we learnt to be open-minded, and even to take a big swipe at any preconceived ideas we might have had.
For many of us, the certificate was an opportunity for personal introspection: what values do we want to defend? Will I be able to work in a company that does not adhere to these values? What role do I want to play in society in the face of climate change? What commitment do I want to make and what meaning should I give to it?
I think one of the major challenges of this certificate was to succeed in presenting the facts as they are, without being subjective. If the speakers expressed opinions, this had to be clear so as not to confuse facts with opinions. What’s more, two months is a very short time to tackle a fairly vast subject, so we had to offer courses that would give us the best possible understanding of the problem, while presenting as exhaustive a range of existing or feasible solutions as possible. In a short space of time, we had to be given the keys so that we could in turn pass them on to others and apply them to our own way of thinking.

How did you approach the Grand Oral?

I approached the Grand Oral quite calmly. Although it may seem stressful, having a panel of experts come and listen to you is a great chance, a quite unique opportunity. It’s a real opportunity to talk to them, launch debates and raise questions by presenting our work. Preparing for the Grand Oral was an opportunity to think for ourselves about environmental issues; using our newly-acquired knowledge to conduct our own reasoning, taking our thoughts further.

A rich and varied panel of speakers

The certificate is taught by a wide range of speakers from industry, research centres, schools and independent experts. Nearly 60 speakers took part in the course, raising students’ awareness of new environmental issues.

For Bastien Lefrançois, design and operations engineer for Flying Whales and hot-air balloon pilot, who came to present the aerostatic balance to the students: “I’d like the students to come away with a sense of what aerostation is, which is very different from more conventional aviation. They now have a few theoretical keys and a few experimental keys”.

Stéphane Amant, a consultant at Carbone4 and an alumnus of ISAE-SUPAERO, who spoke about the specific challenges of air transport in the transport of the future, explains: “At the end of my speech, I would like the students to remember that a golden era is opening up for them in aeronautics”. He adds that engineers will play a more important role in the future than they have in the last thirty years.

A favourable outlook, then, for students, future engineers who will need to be able to apply their knowledge in this area in the future in companies that are now all aware of these environmental issues.

“ The Environmental Engineering Certificate is an excellent opportunity for Airbus and ISAE-SUPAERO to give engineers a global vision of all the issues facing humanity, with a particular focus on environmental aspects and the aeronautical sector. It is also a two-month journey during which we explore together the complexity of sustainable development without shortcuts. Right from the introductory session, I could feel the students’ commitment to the themes proposed, and they also showed great enthusiasm for the exercises, workshops and quizzes. All of this was done in a dynamic atmosphere that made the experience very enjoyable for the speakers. During the Grand Oral, they tackled complex, interdisciplinary issues around a variety of themes, such as the increasing scarcity of resources, ethical issues and the notion of a carbon budget. I was impressed by their ability to explore, analyse, synthesise and present studies on these subjects in such a short space of time, and I’m really proud of their progress and the intellectual value of their work. They will be fully capable of committing themselves to the transition of the aeronautical sector”

Jonathan PREIST – AIRBUS Sustainable Development Expert

COP2 Student: ISAE-SUPAERO affirms its commitment to ecological transition by signing the Grenoble Agreement

Publication Date

01 June 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Sustainability

ISAE-SUPAERO's commitments

By signing this agreement, the Institute recognises the role of Higher Education and Research in the socio-ecological transition and shares the duty to set an example in building a society in tune with these issues. ISAE-SUPAERO is therefore committed to proposing a list of concrete measures to achieve these objectives: training students and staff in these issues, increasing research efforts with a view to the ecological transition, supporting our stakeholders and, of course, setting an example in terms of our impacts, etc.

This signature completes the commitments made by the Institute through its new HORIZONS strategy, which aims to mobilise teaching skills and scientific expertise to help build the aeronautical and space components of a sustainable society. This small step will probably be followed by other schools in the ISAE Group. ISAE-ENSMA, for example, is already a signatory.

As a reminder, the Grenoble Accord is the fruit of the work carried out by the COP2 Student Association. They organised working groups that met in many French higher education establishments this year (70). Two of these working groups were set up at the Institute, bringing together staff, teachers and students from ISAE-SUPAERO. Within our local groups, we can highlight some very ambitious proposals, in particular the idea of encouraging our students to think about the impact of international travel by proposing that they take responsibility by setting themselves carbon budget targets per year that they do not exceed during their course. All in a cooperative, caring and non-coercive way!

In short, this signature underlines and promotes the effervescence around environmental issues on campus and the dynamism shown by the Institute’s staff and students!

Report on the signing of the Grenoble Agreement

One month after the Grenoble Accord was opened for signature, more than 32 higher education and research establishments have officially committed themselves to the ecological transition, involving around 109,500 students!

The SOLAR BOOST project helps address the problem of urban transport

Publication Date

29 March 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Decarbonization

Sustainability

Présentation

The project in a nutshell

The project is based on the design and prototyping of a streamlined tricycle. This type of light, human-powered vehicle, supplemented by an electric motor powered by solar panels, is part of the search for efficient mobility in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Speed, autonomy, lightness and compactness will all be aimed at setting a record and perhaps, at a later stage, at spreading to a wider public to help solve the problem of transport in urban areas.

Origin of the project

The Solar boost project was originally initiated by Vincent Chapin, professor of aerodynamics at ISAE-SUPAERO. The brief was to to ” think about innovative solutions for individual transport between the car, which is highly polluting and takes up a lot of space, and the bicycle, which is impractical in certain situations (such as shopping, for example), not fast enough and dangerous enough for cyclists “.

At the start of the project, 2 pupils began to take part outside the classroom. They worked mainly on the aerodynamics of the velomobile, as well as on the electronics, and entered into a partnership with Solarcloth in order to obtain solar panels. During the 2019-2020 academic year, the project was offered as a PIC (Innovation and Creativity Project) to a group of 4 first-year engineering students, who then carried out an initial market study. In September 2020, Agustina Gascue, a former member of the group, set up the SolarBoost technical club to take the project further and get more people involved.

Solar Boost Technical Club

The club has three technical departments: electronics, structure and aerodynamics. In addition to these divisions, the club also has a management division and a division specialising in market research, with the help of a number of students from Toulouse Business School.

To improve efficiency, the students involved in the club have decided to concentrate initially on integrating the engine and solar panels into the chassis. This will enable them to have a rolling structure fairly quickly. At the same time, the aerodynamics team is continuing to optimise the hull, which will be integrated in a second phase.

The team hopes to have a working prototype in 2022, with which they will attempt to reach Italy! In the longer term, the students would like to create a university competition similar to the Ecoshell Marathon. The idea would be to put different student prototypes of green vehicles in competition against each other, in line with defined criteria.

At present, the students are continuing their search for funding and partnerships.

Contacts

Are you a company interested in supporting the development of the SOLAR BOOST project?

Agustina GASCUE
agustina.gascue@student.isae-supaero.fr
SOLAR BOOST website
LinkedIn page

ISAE-SUPAERO is broadcasting the webinar “Air transport in crisis and the climate challenge: towards new paradigms” on campus!

Publication Date

16 February 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Aerospace

Event

Sustainability

The aim of this webinar, organised by the Académie de l’Air et de l’Espace, is to take an independent look at the issue of reducing the carbon footprint of air transport and the means of doing so.

For two days, it will bring together climatologists, experts from the various industrial sectors concerned (energy, aeronautics, transport, etc.), as well as sociologists and economists from various countries.

As well as professionals and politicians, the conference is aimed at a wide audience, particularly the younger generation, whose highly committed representatives will be taking part in the debates.
The first round table will be chaired by Olivier DEL BUCCHIA, co-founder of SUPAERO-DECARBO, and will be attended by Apolline RIET, an ISAE-SUPAERO student and President of the SUPAERO for Earth association.

You can download the programme for this webinar here and choose the sessions you wish to attend. Amphitheatre 3 is reserved on 11 and 12 March from 8.45am to 6pm and amphitheatres 1 and 2 are reserved for this occasion on 11 March from 1pm to 7pm. Admission is free for staff and students subject to availability and the constraints of current health regulations...

To find out more about the aims of the conference: https://academieairespace.com

To download the programme for the webinar “Air transport in crisis and the climate challenge: towards new paradigms”: https://academieairespace.com

Enjoy the webinar!

ISAE-SUPAERO launches “Horizons”, its new Sustainable Development strategy

Publication Date

05 February 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

ISAE Group

Sustainability

Horizons

Their massive and unprecedented mobilisation encouraged ISAE-SUPAERO to go further in its reflections on its contribution to this transition. Over the course of a year, several working groups, students, teacher-researchers, industrial partners and governance bodies were mobilised to examine in greater depth and reformulate the Institute’s strategic commitment to sustainable development.

To ensure that ISAE-SUPAERO plays its role within the aerospace sector, by assuming its responsibility to prepare for the future and anticipate the necessary transformations.
To meet the expectations of current and future students, as well as those of the Institute’s employees
To remain true to its history and its motto “excellence with passion”, by training engineers who will be at the forefront of the transformation of the aerospace sector.

ISAE-SUPAERO is therefore committed to mobilising its teaching skills and scientific expertise to help build the aeronautical and space components of a sustainable society, and in particular to invent the low-carbon air transport of tomorrow. This commitment is set out in a renewed Sustainable Development strategy: HORIZONS.

The aim of this approach is threefold:

– To make the Institute a committed player in the sustainability of aeronautical mobility and the space sector, by training the engineers and managers who will take up this challenge, and by directing our research and innovation activities in this direction.
– Giving future graduates the keys to contributing to the public debate on the energy transition and a sustainable society, based on the scientific approach and their ability to master complex systems.
– Continue to reduce the carbon footprint of our activities and campus.

The deployment of this strategy should also be an opportunity to unite a community around an ambitious collective project that is vital for the future. ISAE-SUPAERO is making a lasting commitment to new horizons!

HORIZONS

HORIZONS: the Institute's new Sustainable Development strategy

Why this choice? Here's how.

As part of the deployment of its new Sustainable Development strategy, the Institut is committed to mobilising its teaching skills and scientific expertise to help build the aeronautical and space components of a sustainable society. One of the aims of this new HORIZONS strategy is to invent the low-carbon air transport of the future.

The choice was made using a detailed collaborative methodology, bringing together a large number of players both inside and outside the school. A survey was first carried out in June 2020 among all staff and students to gather initial ideas. Two creativity workshops were then organised for students and staff motivated by the subject of Sustainable Development.

At the end of these discussions, more than 100 proposals were made and 6 were selected to enable the Executive Committee to validate the final choice.

HORIZONS: looking further ahead**

The choice fell on the name "HORIZONS". It's not an insignificant plural, since it offers the possibility of seeing far and wide, of projecting ourselves into inspiring possibilities that have yet to be invented, so that we can collectively commit ourselves to new horizons in favour of sustainable development. HORIZONS is as easy to understand in French as it is in English, and is designed to have an impact and be easy to memorise for smooth communication on the subject.

A wink: the artificial horizon is also the on-board instrument that measures an aircraft's attitude in relation to the horizon, a reference to our historical roots to steer us smoothly towards the ambition that is our renewed sustainable development strategy!

Let’s make together a durable commitment to new horizons

Publication Date

28 January 2021

Category

Institute

Tag

Aeronautics

Horizons

Sustainability

Teacher researcher

Engineers must take part in public debate and exercise their role as citizen-engineers

It is the job of engineers to bridge the gap between science and society, using science to take concrete action in society. Their role is crucial in addressing the complexity of these challenges by proposing solutions that are ambitious, scientifically sound and socially acceptable. Engineers have a voice to be heard, yet they are all too rarely heard in public debate.

Higher education and research are major levers in the transition to a sustainable society. In recent years, our students’ awareness of climate issues has become very high, as shown by their growing participation in the dedicated training modules that we have set up over the last ten years. Their massive and unprecedented involvement encourages us to think even more deeply about our contribution to this transition.

A leading engineering school such as ours remains fundamentally attached to the notion of progress developed in the Age of Enlightenment. We believe that advances in science should enable humanity to gradually take control of its own destiny, provided it makes good use of them. And we are aware that we have a special role to play in this, by contributing through our research to the advancement of knowledge, and above all by training young engineers to make the best use of it. We are firmly committed to this.

The ecological transition is the major challenge facing the aeronautics sector

The history of aeronautics and space is that of a pioneering industry that has made one of mankind’s oldest dreams come true. Crossing the Atlantic in an aeroplane or sending a human being to the Moon: over the last century, aerospace engineers have repeatedly shown that they are capable of doing what many thought was impossible. They can help to do the same for the challenge of ecological transition.

They have already made a major contribution to the diagnosis of the situation: it was thanks to balloons and aeroplanes that the science of the atmosphere was first developed; more recently, it is thanks to the observation satellites put into orbit over the last few decades that it has been possible, for the first time in human history, to measure the state of the atmosphere and the oceans over the entire surface of the globe. Without this, it would have been impossible to understand the phenomena and validate the scientific models of global warming. Now they have to work hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero, starting in their own field, which is not the easiest.

In barely 100 years, aeronautical engineers have invented, made safe and democratised air transport. We are no longer surprised by this, but isn’t it extraordinary that today it is faster, more comfortable, safer and cheaper to take the plane than the car or the train, when you want to cover distances of more than 1,000 km? The energy efficiency of air transport has made equally impressive progress. But that’s not enough. Having invented, secured and democratised air transport, we now need to decarbonise it. This is a new issue, a new challenge, just as ambitious as the previous ones: we need to invent new aircraft, using all the technological resources and creativity of our engineers.

The technological avenues have been identified: energy sources, materials, structure, aerodynamics, engines, etc. There is a considerable amount of work to be done to bring all these technologies to maturity and bring them up to the level of reliability and safety required for air transport. This is the job of a new generation of engineers, who will have to invent new aircraft that are carbon-free and as reliable and competitive as ever, based on the latest scientific advances: it’s a fabulous challenge for the decades to come.

ISAE-SUPAERO is making a long-term commitment today

The training model of France’s leading engineering schools combines high scientific standards, a broad multidisciplinary approach and a commitment to business and society. Our students are destined to become key players in the ecological transition.
The pioneering spirit and potential for innovation that are in the DNA of aeronautical engineers, and in particular those at ISAE-SUPAERO, encourage us to go even further.

Over the past year, we have mobilised a number of working groups, students, teaching and research staff, industrial partners and governance bodies to examine in greater depth and reformulate our strategic commitment to sustainable development. Together, we have faced up to this formidable challenge, and we are convinced that it also represents a tremendous opportunity for our students. We are convinced that it is possible to transform the aerospace sector over the coming decades to make it a major component of a sustainable society. Space will play an increasingly important role in monitoring the state of our planet, and air transport can be decarbonised, so that it can continue to meet the long-distance transport needs of future generations without impacting on the climate.

We have a duty to commit to this without delay:

To play our role within the aerospace sector, by assuming our responsibility to prepare for the future and anticipate the necessary transformations;
To meet the expectations of our current and future students and employees;
To remain true to our history and our motto “excellence with a passion”, by training engineers who will be at the forefront of the transformation of the aerospace sector.

We have therefore made a commitment to mobilise our teaching skills and scientific expertise to help build the aeronautical and space components of a sustainable society, and in particular to invent the low-carbon air transport of the future. We are implementing this commitment through a renewed Sustainable Development strategy: HORIZONS.

The aim of this approach is threefold:

To make the Institute a committed player in the sustainability of aeronautical mobility and the space sector, by training the engineers and managers who will take up this challenge, and by directing our research and innovation activities in this direction;
Giving our future graduates the keys to contributing to the public debate on the energy transition and a sustainable society, by drawing on the scientific approach and their ability to master complex systems;
Continue to reduce the carbon footprint of our activities and our campus.

Since 1909, ISAE-SUPAERO has been training systems engineers, with a global approach, who contribute, through their excellence, to the emergence of solutions, capable of solving major problems and making a positive commitment to the future of society. We train critical thinkers who are aware of changes in the world and of the fact that science and technology are at the heart of major societal issues.

The aeronautics industry is undergoing constant change, and today it needs to rethink, transform and reinvent itself. It will need new visions, different and emerging skills. ISAE-SUPAERO has a role to play in this adventure by preparing our graduates to transform and reinvent the aeronautics and space sector of the future and to invest in major pioneering projects as they have done since the beginning of the 20th century, and by contributing to research in this area.

The deployment of this strategy should also be an opportunity to unite our community around an ambitious collective project that is vital for the future. Together, we can make a lasting commitment to new horizons!

Olivier Lesbre
President of ISAE-SUPAERO (2014-2024)

Corentin Lefloch, an engineering student, wins first prize at the USAIRE STUDENT AWARDS for his ideas on the future of aviation

Publication Date

11 December 2020

Category

Institute

Tag

Prize

Sustainability

“We set out to consider air transport as a whole, to take stock of this complex industry with its incredible variety of players, and to research the current prospects for air transport in order to propose an implementable solution to meet the climate challenges”, Corentin points out.

Their report, entitled “Innovating and renewing: a flight plan for a sustainable aviation industry”, presents a technological analysis of the sector and develops proposals for innovative economic, institutional and legal reforms to meet the climate challenge from a new angle.

In it, they discuss an overhaul of the way the aeronautics industry is organised, based on sustainable technological innovation, international cooperation and a fair distribution of intellectual property and economic and social benefits across the value chain.

Reform on an international scale

In their view, the industry needs to focus not only on new technologies, but also on its institutions, in order to meet the commitments of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) to halve its CO2 emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Improving aircraft structures and engines, or using drop-in alternative fuels, will not be enough. The students suggest the creation of an “International Council for Sustainable Aviation” to set guidelines for airlines on a global scale, or the introduction of “transition bonds”, systems for financing innovative low-CO2 emission projects, which are just as important in establishing sustainable aviation.

In concluding their manifesto, they state that the success of air transport in the future cannot be summed up in a simple technological solution, and that international institutions will also have to be reinvented to enable the emergence and development of fully sustainable aviation.

“I am convinced that the collective awareness of the climate challenges is a tremendous opportunity to rethink the world of tomorrow. The aviation industry has a lot to do to integrate environmental issues and reinvent itself. I’d like to be part of these changes and be able to propose solutions”, explains Corentin.

A clear path

With a lifelong passion for aeronautics, Corentin Lefloch joined ISAE-SUPAERO after a preparatory class for the “Grandes Écoles”. He then went on to do a double-diploma with Sciences Po Paris, in a Masters in Finance and Strategy. He is convinced of the need to combine this knowledge with engineering to develop a detailed understanding of the aeronautics industry, in order to play an active part in its future development. He is currently in his final year of the engineering curriculum, specialising in decision data sciences.

It was during this double degree at Sciences Po Paris that he met Florian Gandon, a glider pilot and aviation enthusiast, who is convinced that finance and public affairs are two pillars of this strategic and capital-intensive industry. After completing his Master’s degree and gaining experience at Airbus and other companies, he became a trainee private equity analyst at Ace Management, the company that manages the €1 billion recovery fund for the aerospace industry, financed by Airbus, Safran, Dassault Aviation, Thales, Tikehau Capital and the French government.

This USAIRE jury-awarded pair got involved very early on to develop their own thinking on the future of air transport and its ecological transition, “be green, keep flying”, in the midst of the health crisis, at a time when the vast majority of aircraft were grounded, while aid to support the sector was conditional on environmental commitments.
For the past 15 years, the USAIRE association has organised the USAIRE Student Awards, an international competition recognised by industry professionals and sponsored by aerospace leaders such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing and Airbus.

The project for an unmanned, zero-emission aircraft to cross the South Atlantic

Publication Date

20 October 2020

Category

Institute

Tag

Innovation

Researcher

Sustainability

Presentation of the Drone Mermoz project

An exploratory project

Faced with the physical limits imposed by battery-powered electric flight, a team of researchers and students led by Professor Jean-Marc Moschetta is working on the design of a small unmanned aircraft with electric propulsion and no greenhouse gas emissions during flight.

“ It ‘s an exploratory project that is completely in line with the breakthrough technologies needed for aeronautics,” explains the specialist who leads the Institute’s research into drones.

Launched at the start of the year, the experimentation phase will see the creation of a 4-metre demonstrator to test and validate all the technological building blocks in flight. The initial design of the drone is currently taking shape, and its aerodynamics are being finely tuned to give it all the capabilities and qualities needed to cover a distance of more than 3,000 kilometres.

Liquid hydrogen: a clean alternative

ISAE-SUPAERO is working with H3 Dynamics, a company that manufactures and markets hydrogen fuel cells. Through the work of its subsidiary HES Energy Systems, the company is developing cutting-edge expertise in the manufacture and integration of hydrogen energy systems for robotic and airborne applications. The use of a hydrogen fuel cell enables a totally electric propulsion chain to be used, since the hydrogen, stored in gaseous or liquid form, is transformed into electricity. This technology has been extensively tested in flight for several years. The choice of storage method depends on the mission profile.

A real technological breakthrough, the use of liquid hydrogen aims to solve the problem of the low energy density of the lithium batteries used in conventional UAVs, which severely limit the range of aircraft in flight. Electric propulsion with liquid hydrogen storage would provide more than 6 times more energy per unit of mass than conventional battery electric propulsion, while emitting only water vapour during flight.

A drone in the footsteps of Mermoz

The researchers want to show that a crossing of the South Atlantic from Senegal to Brazil, in the footsteps of Jean Mermoz, is possible with an unmanned aircraft system powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and capable of flying very long distances. The project also incorporates a weight constraint: to be light enough to fall within the French certification category for flying out of sight. That’s the target for 2023! A second major objective is being pursued: “Mermoz” could represent the first tangible building block of tomorrow’s low-carbon aviation.

This project is supported by the Occitanie Region and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as well as by the ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation, which, thanks to donors to the Class Gift Inter-Promotions, has raised funds to contribute to the purchase of equipment to fly the demonstrator. Further fund-raising efforts are still required to complete all the activities.