The European Union’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking has approved €290 million in funding for 19 new projects aimed at advancing low-emission aircraft technologies, with the total research effort rising to €664 million when private and other public contributions are included. The programme covers hybrid-electric propulsion, hydrogen-powered aircraft, ultra-efficient regional designs, airframe optimisation, noise reduction, anti-icing and liquid-hydrogen storage.
Work is shifting from research into demonstration, with eight fast-track projects due to start at the end of 2026 and the remainder in early 2027. Full-scale ground testing and flight trials are planned for 2029 and 2030, placing the effort firmly in the medium-term development phase rather than near-term commercial entry.
Clean Aviation aims to cut net greenhouse-gas emissions from short- and medium-range as well as regional aircraft by at least 30% versus 2020 technology, supporting aircraft targeted for service entry by 2035. Rolls-Royce will lead the ELEVATED project on hybrid-electric gas-turbine propulsion, while other named workstreams include hydrogen-focused projects such as FARMAN and H-ELENA.