Sustainable flying by 2050 – is it possible?

The podcast "Exzellent erklärt" reports on the cutting-edge research of the Cluster of Excellence SE²A

“Sustainable flying – new aircraft models, different fuels” is the topic of the latest episode of the podcast “Exzellent erklärt – Spitzenforschung für alle”, which goes online on 1 March 2022. 

The podcaster Larissa Vassilian talks to Professor Jens Friedrichs, spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence, and Professor Rolf Radespiel, co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence, about the interdisciplinary research activities and goals of SE²A. They will be looking for answers to the questions of how sustainable flying could look like by 2050 and what role electric power, hydrogen and synthetic fuels will play as alternatives to the fossil kerosine. In order to be able to fly sustainably in the future, the scientists in the cluster are also researching innovative designs that show: Aircraft of the new generation will no longer have much in common with the aircraft that are in the air today. You can listen to the new episode from 1st of March here and at the usual podcast providers.

The podcast “Exzellent erklärt”

57 clusters of excellence – one podcast: “Exzellent erklärt – Spitzenforschung für alle” (Excellently Explained – Top Research for All” reports regularly from one of the research networks that are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The journey goes right across the republic, and the topics are just as diverse as the locations: from African studies to the future of medicine. Larissa Vassilian, well-known as a book author, columnist and journalist, interviews researchers from one of the Clusters of Excellence in each episode. All clusters share a common motivation: They address important topics of our time, work on unusual questions and conduct research for the society of tomorrow.

Further information and show notes at www.exzellent-erklaert.de.

About the experts

Professor Jens Friedrichs is head of the Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery at TU Braunschweig since 2010. The focus of his experimental and numerical research is on new propulsors, i.e. new propulsion concepts and their integration into the aircraft. Wear and maintenance models for aircraft propulsion systems are also developed at the institute. Professor Friedrichs is the spokesperson for the mobility research focus at TU Braunschweig and spokesperson for the SE²A Cluster of Excellence.

Professor Rolf Radespiel is head of the Institute for Fluid Mechanics at TU Braunschweig since 2000. His research focuses on experimental and numerical methods for aerodynamics of aircraft and especially for drag reduction. In addition, the institute investigates procedures for flow measurement technology and flow manipulation and also conducts experiments on the icing of aircraft in particular. Professor Radespiel is the spokesperson of the Aeronautics Research Centre (NFL) and vice spokesperson of SE²A.

The Cluster of Excellence SE²A

The Cluster of Excellence “Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation” (SE²A) has the ambitious goal of making future air transport efficient while meeting the competing demands of continuous growth and ecological sustainability. The SE²A team includes scientists from TU Braunschweig, the German Aerospace Center, Leibniz Universität Hannover, the Braunschweig University of Art and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. The Cluster of Excellence is part of TU Braunschweig’s research focus “Mobility”.

 

Source: TU Braunschweig, Press releases: Research