The Launch

?? I’m Kolin, based in the lovely city of Hamburg, with a passion for the disruptive forces shaking up aviation and aerospace. With the AeroTechPulse, I share a curation of the ?? hottest ?? news trends and developments in aviation and aerospace. The AeroTechPulse is distributed biweekly.

??? DxD Launch ???

Attention, aerospace, and defence community! Something BIG is coming your way. Sign up to receive more information about the launch and keep your eyes peeled for more details soon...

?? Trending.

Silicon Valley Bank: Everyone has heard about it by now. I am not an expert on this matter; I only know people who are, listened to them, and was aghast! Let's see what we are getting into by tomorrow.

More to read on this subject here:

• Banking Sector Chaos by Raoul Pal from Real Vision
• SVB Downfall
• SVB Tech Panic
• The Week Ahead

?? Driving the Conversation. The Top Reads.

Top 1: Delta Air Lines lays out its plan to leave fossil fuels behind.

Delta Air Lines plans to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for at least 95% of its fuel consumption by 2050 to address climate change, but limited SAF production and environmental concerns could hinder its goal.

Top 2: New research casts doubt over sustainable aviation fuels.

New research from the Royal Society has analysed aviation industry technologies to decarbonise and reduce its 8% contribution to the UK’s carbon footprint. The report warns that no single solution exists, other than reducing air travel or relying on long-term offsets.

Top 3: Will plans to decarbonize the aviation industry fly?

Commercial aviation's transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 is a moonshot challenge, requiring accelerated fleet renewals with more efficient aircraft and investment in new propulsion technologies. However, there is no clear solution for decarbonizing the bulk of commercial aviation by 2050, and improving fuel-burn efficiency is the most effective approach in the coming decade.

Top 4: Will electric air taxis really soar over LA?

Entrepreneurs and regulators are optimistic that the emerging electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) industry can revolutionize short-haul air travel by 2025, but analysts have questioned the viability of business models based on flying eVTOLs thousands of hours annually to recoup costs, with some warning that infrastructure challenges are also significant.

Top 5: Scientists discover enzyme that can turn air into electricity

Australian scientists have discovered a new bacterial enzyme called Huc that can convert traces of hydrogen in the air into electricity, which could be used as a sustainable energy source for small devices or even fuel cells to power larger devices like cars and airplanes.

Top 6: We can't count on hydrogen-powered commercial flights before 2050

The aerospace industry's goal is to reach net zero in commercial aviation by 2050. However, finding renewable energy alternatives with the same energy density and volumetric efficiency as fossil fuels is challenging. Hydrogen-powered planes face several challenges, such as leakages, infrastructure and safety requirements, and storage issues. Hydrogen-powered planes may contribute to moderating emissions in 2050, but SAF should be the primary focus.

Top 7: Decarbonization costs prompt calls for new business model

The high cost of the COVID pandemic on airlines is nothing compared to the costs associated with meeting carbon net-zero targets, and the imbalance in the aviation value chain means that airlines will bear most of the premium for decarbonization, necessitating new business models and possibly higher ticket prices.

Top 8: Archer announced Q4 2022 and fiscal year 2022 results.

Top 9: Europe working to mature technologies for next clean sheet airliners

Europe's Clean Aviation research program aims to develop technologies for the next generation of clean-sheet commercial aircraft with a fuel-burn reduction of 30% for a single-aisle airliner and 50% for a regional aircraft, in order to meet the aviation industry's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, with the technologies ready for adoption by 2028-29, in a program funded by €4.1bn ($4.4bn) over seven years.

Top 10: Ferrovial Vertiports CEO calls for focus on AAM Ecosystem

Ferrovial Vertiports CEO Kevin Cox has urged the industry to focus on building infrastructure and services to accommodate the expected arrival of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles by mid-decade, and believes his company's proprietary demand model, which uses cellphone data to map out frequently traveled routes, is key to its vertiport network planning process.

Top 11: Green flights not in easy reach, warn scientists

The article discusses how climate-friendly flying is still a long way off because there is currently no clear alternative to traditional jet fuel, and the authors of the Royal Society report concluded that none of the four options for greener fuels looked at could replace fossil jet fuel in the short term.

Miscellaneous

Quote of the week:

"EVTOLs are a fantastic opportunity to have 
A SANDBOX OF TECHNOLOGIES 
that you can experiment on at a small scale very quickly."

- Gauillaume Faury
Airbus CEO, explaining the Aero Club of Washington how the firm's
investments in eVTOL technologies are benefitting its commercial
aircraft business.        

Cool SAF Library:

SAF Reading List with the most important reports, research articles, etc.

?? [VC] Transactions, Partnerships, and Other Deals & Figures.

Jaunt's parent firm Airo Group to go public via SPAC

PHI sings LoI for 50 Kaman Kargo drones for logistics missions

Airbus and Norwegian Air Ambulance partner for medical missions

Lufthansa partners with Diamond Aircraft to develop electric training aircraft

Skyportz partners with Pelligra to explore the development of vertiport networks

PLANA signs MoU with Jeju Air to establish an Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem

?? End Note.

I hope you enjoyed Kolin’s AeroTechPulse. The next edition will be published soon, so stay tuned and hungry ??.

Please connect on LinkedIn and reach out if you have any questions or feedback, or want to discuss the topics.

Cheers,

K

# ??? Live today, love tomorrow ?? #

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----- Disclaimer -----

?? The opinions, ideas, and viewpoints presented do not reflect those of my current employment, nor do the publication format or any individual personal opinion on a subject do so. ??