Decarbonising the aerospace sector: How innovation and digital transformation are paving the way for a sustainable future 

In brief 

As the aviation industry faces increasing environmental pressure, the path to carbon neutrality by 2050 is becoming a strategic priority. 

Our recent study, “Decarbonising aviation: innovation and digital at the heart of strategies”, shows how cutting-edge innovations and digital solutions are transforming the sector to meet this challenge.  

The report, illustrated with case studies, highlights four key levers for decarbonisation: 

  • Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), which are expected to cover 65% of aviation fuel requirements by 2050, with electric and hydrogen technologies offering promising zero-emission alternatives; 
  • Engineering innovations, such as Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), combined with advanced lifecycle management techniques (in particular Service Lifecycle Management (SLCM)) are revolutionising aircraft design, enabling significant reductions in environmental impact from design to end-of-life; 
  • The optimisation of flight operations and air traffic management using digital tools, which offers an immediate opportunity to reduce emissions; 
  • Collaboration, transparency across supply chains and investment in digital continuity are essential to make this transformation a reality. 

By embracing these innovations, the aerospace industry is charting a new course towards a sustainable future. 

Download our point of view to find out more and discover how your organisation can take advantage of these strategies to accelerate the decarbonisation of the aeronautical sector. 

Download the document

The environmental transition of aviation is an unprecedented challenge for the aeronautics industry. All possible solutions (energy, technological, operational) need to be explored, and they must be supported by a strong digital infrastructure: a lever for innovation and industrialisation to bring about an in-depth transformation.

Guilhem Bouley

Senior Manager Aeroline, Head of Engineering and Sustainable Development Consulting

Key figures:  

  • Each new generation of aircraft is 25% more efficient than its predecessor; 
  • For a company in the aeronautical sector, the carbon footprint of scope 3 can easily represent 70% or 80% of the overall footprint; 
  • Improving operations linked to the manufacture and operation of aircraft is a lever that, depending on the study, could contribute between 3% and 7% to the overall effort to reduce carbon emissions; 
  • Optimising flight paths, in particular by managing the continuous descent approach (CDA), could reduce the carbon impact of flights by 10%; 
  • The SESAR programme ambitions to achieve savings of 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 and 540,000 tonnes of kerosene by 2030. 

To find out more about our point of view and discover how your organisation can take advantage of these strategies to accelerate the decarbonisation of the aeronautical sector. 

The fields marked by an asterisk (*) are required