On October 22, 2023, the "25th Annual Meeting of CAST - International Forum on Green Aviation" was held in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. The Forum was organized by the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA), co-hosted by the CSAA Technical Committee of Electric Aviation, CSAA Technical Committee of Avionics and ATM, and the School of Energy and Power Engineering of BUAA; and cooperated by the Northwestern Polytechnical University, Chinese Aeronautical Establishment, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of CAS, Department of Transportation of Anhui, and AVIC Hefei Hang Tai Electrophysics. Academician Zhang Weihong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the chairman of the forum.

 

The Forum was closely focused on the theme of "Green Aviation", and invited the leaders of many international organizations to introduce their strategies and actions towards sustainable development of aviation. A number of academicians and experts were invited to give summary reports on the key fields of green aviation, such as noise and emission reduction, aircraft design, hydrogen power, lightweight structural materials, green airport construction, and so on. Civil aviation authorities, research institutes, and electric aircraft enterprises were invited to conduct a thematic exchange on new energy aircraft from both technical and regulatory dimensions. The conference also set up three parallel sessions on Energy and Aero-Power,  Smart ATM, UAM, Airport Operations Management and Electric Aircraft. The forum is rich in content and high-level reports, and has received high public profile from the industry. Within one week after announcement, about 300 delegates signed up. Due to room capacity, finally only 200 delegates got the opportunity to attend in person. Nearly ten thousand people participated through the live broadcast platform.

Mr. Yao Junchen, Vice President and Secretary General of CSAA, presided over the opening ceremony and made introductions to important guests. Academician Zhang Weihong delivered a welcome speech. He pointed out that the aviation industry is facing many challenges such as cleanliness, intelligence, safety and innovation, which require the gathered strengths from the global aviation community to tackle. The industry should work together to build a community with a shared future in green aviation development, and jointly promote the wide application of new technologies in the field of green aviation. This conference is a great event in international green aviation since the end of the Covid-19. It will surely sparks more ideas, gather more expert wisdom, and explore a more advanced and sustainable path to green aviation development. Afterwards, Nie Aiguo, Director of Department of Transportation of Anhui, made a speech to introduce Hefei and welcomed the delegates.

 

Prof. Raafat Saade, founder of the International Network for Digital Innovation Research and Education (INDIRE) and founding member of the International Association of Green Aviation (hereinafter referred to as IAGA), shared his report on the sustainability of carbon emission reduction and the road to green aviation. He believed that it is necessary to adhere to aviation technology innovation, carbon reduction strategies, aviation professional education and training, innovation and regulation, and global cooperation to build a green aviation industry.

 

Bruno Silva, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Officer, Secretariat of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), presented the work of ICAO in promoting SAF in terms of ICAO's guidance to its Member States, sharing of information, and best practices. It was noted that ICAO's framework for SAF sustainability certification is ready and operational; that the third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) will be held in Dubai from November 20-24, where the ICAO Global Clean Energy Framework for Aviation will be developed; and that ICAO has initiated a training and support program in June 2022 aimed at assisting member states in developing and deploying SAF.

 

Dan Carnelly, Vice-President of the International Coordinating Council of Aeronautical and Astronautical Associations (ICCAIA) and Permanent Observer to ICAO, shared information on ICCAIA's strategies and actions to promote sustainable aviation. He said that ICCAIA, which represents the interests of aerospace manufacturers and suppliers covered by its member associations, has been in existence for more than fifty years, with its largest members being the European Aerospace and Defense Association (ASD) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIA). The Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA) is a new member, and welcomes China's aerospace industry, COMAC, to participate in ICCAIA's endeavors in the future through CSAA.

 

Dimitri Mavris, President of the International Council of Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) and Professor at Georgia Tech, United States of America, described ICAS initiatives to address the most critical issues in aviation, including related topics discussed in the International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences He encouraged national aeronautical professional organizations to prioritize green aviation in their agenda.

 

Professor Liu Hao, Secretary-General of the Joint Unmanned Systems Rulemaking Consortium (JARUS),  Acting Chair of the School of Global Governance(SGG), BIT shared a report on unmanned aviation and green aviation. He pointed out that unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have great potential to support the green development of aviation. In order to advance green aviation, he made three calls for, first, the establishment of an international green aviation NGO to provide an international public forum for sustained open discussion and free exchange of ideas outside of governmental agencies such as ICAO, and to serve as a hub for green aviation-related research, policy development, and collaboration; second, the promotion of cross-multidisciplinary cooperation, encouraging experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering, law, economics and management to work together to enhance dialogue and cooperation and ensure coordinated action towards green aviation goals; and third, the use of  innovative technologies, such as UAS, which made a significant contribution to green aviation.

After this session, the summary reports in key fields were presented in three sessions. A total of 9 academicians and experts leading in related fields around the world were invited to make reports. The first part was chaired by Academician Zhang Weihong.

 

Eric Upton of Gulfstream, USA, Chair of the ICCAIA Aircraft Noise and Emissions Committee (ICCAIA ANEC) and observer to the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), introduced the ANEC, which has over 150 aircraft and engine and ancillary supplier experts conducting policy research and providing advice to the ICAO CAEP. It has a seat on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and is the only manufacturer representative to the United Nations Basel Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Stockholm Convention on the Transport of Hazardous Wastes. The ANEC has a seat at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is the sole manufacturer's representative to the UN Basel Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Stockholm Convention on the Transport of Hazardous Wastes. In the future, ICCAIA ANEC will be heavily involved in the most innovative areas of the industry, including SAF, hydrogen energy, and drones, supporting the creation of policies and regulations in these areas.

 

Academician Wu Guanghui, a member of IAGA and Chief Designer of COMAC C919 aircraft, gave an overview report on "Opportunities and Challenges for Large Aircraft in the Context of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality". He said that it is predicted that the proportion of carbon emissions from aviation is 4% at present, and will be close to 25% by 2050, because all other carbon emissions are decreasing, while the proportion of emissions from aviation, which cannot be replaced by aviation turbine power, will increase. In this regard, he put forward several suggestions: first, the development of aircraft emission reduction technology, second, sustainable aviation fuel deployment, third, the development of hybrid technology, such as hydrogen energy, small controllable nuclear reactor, fourth, biofuel, in addition, the market and economic means are equally important, the use of administrative quota trading, the carbon emissions trading market to further raise awareness and the overall level of management to reduce the carbon emissions of the aviation.

 

Academician Yang Fengtian, a founding member of IAGA and a leading figure of new energy general aviation aircraft in China, made a report entitled: The Deployment and Planning of New Energy Aviation Industry via pre-recorded video. He pointed out that the research and development of green energy aircraft is a major systematic project. Currently, R&D efforts are relatively decentralized, and there is an urgent need to develop green energy through global technology cooperation. As one of the founders, he fully supports the establishment of IAGA led by CSAA. For the development of the industry, he put forward specific paths: First, "green+" to promote the upgrading of the civil aircraft industry. The second is to open up a new field of electric aviation. Third, combining the development of pure electric propulsion technology and turbine hybrid electric propulsion technology, carry out new energy commercial aircraft advance research from small to large. The fourth is to lay out a new track of hydrogen aviation.

 

Mr. Li Dongsheng, Chief Engineer of COMAC Composite Materials and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, moderated the second part of the session on summary reports in key fields. Academician Zhang Weihong shared his views on "Green Aviation and Structural Lightwight Design". In the face of the huge environmental pressure brought by the development of air transportation, aircraft must be lightweight. It is an eternal theme. There is a certain gap between our country and the world, and this gap is gradually diminishing.

Academician Xiang Qiao, a founding member of IAGA and deputy general manager of AECC, shared her systematic research on the discovery and development of hydrogen energy from the 16th century to the present day. In 21st century, hydrogen energy has really entered the stage of commercial development, hydrogen production, storage and transportation. At the same time, the application of hydrogen has made great progress with the development of hydrogen energy in many countries as a national strategy. The construction of the hydrogen energy industry chain should also be improved. The report was presented by Hu Xiaoyu instead, a researcher of AECC.

 

In the afternoon of October 22, Yu Ce, Associate Secretary General of CSAA, presided over the launch of the "International Association for Green Aviation " (IAGA). Academician Zhang Weihong, a founding member of IAGA, introduced the background of the organization; Professor Raafat Saade, Beijing Institute of Technology, introduced the business scope of the organization; and Mr. Hing Lee HOOI, founder of Volar Air Mobility, introduced the organization's formation and call for more engagement.

 

Prof. Ding Shuitin, a founding member of IAGA and President of Civil Aviation University of China, then chaired the third part of the summary reports in key fields.

 

Mr. Yin Shijun, Chief Engineer of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), a founding member of IAGA, made a presentation entitled "Construction and Operation of Green Airports in China".

 

Prof. Joachim Szodruch, founding member of IAGA and founder of IFAR, gave a keynote speech on "IFAR and the Way Forward to Sustainable Aviation".

 

Sun Xiasheng, the Secretary General of the Chinese Society for Aeronautical Education, a founding member of IAGA, made a presentation entitled “Review and Prospect: International Exchanges and Cooperation in Green Aviation Technology”.

 

Prof. Ligeia Paletti of NLR gave a lecture entitled “Structural Integrity as Enabler towards Sustainability in Aviation”.

In the wake of summary reports, there were two panels dedicated to New Energy Aviation. Panel one is technology-oriented, being chaired by Mr. Sun Xiasheng, Vice Director of CSAA Technical Committee of Electric Aviation.

 

Prof. Alan Lau, President of Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEI), Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, made a presentation entitled "New Materials, Advanced Manufacturing Process and New Energies for the Development of Green Aviation".

 

Mr. Yang Zhigang, Chief Engineer of COMAC Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute, made a presentation entitled “Practice of COMAC’s New Energy Aircraft: Application Scenarios for Electricity inn Airplanes”.

 

A presentation entitled "A Review EU Project Research on Sustainable Aviation" was given online by Feijia Yin, a researcher from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

 

Florian Holzapfel, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, gave an online presentation entitled “Control Technologies for Green Aircraft”.

 

Professor Lei Zhong of Suwa Tokyo University of Science, Japan, made a presentation entitled "Analysis of Development and Operation Costs for Electric Advanced Air Mobility”.

 

Mr. Duan Zemin, General Manager of Aviation Industry Hefei Hang Tai Elctrophysics Co., Ltd, made a presentation entitled "Research on Lighting and HIRF Test for New Energy Aircraft".

 

Panel 2 is more regulation-oriented, being chaired by Prof. Zhang Shuguang, Vice Director of the CSAA Technical Committee of Electric Aviation. Xu Yile, Deputy Director of Airworthiness Certification Divison in East China Regional Administration of CAAC, Mr. Willi Tacke, President of FlyPage Germany, Capt. Michael Lau, Professor of Practice, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Mr. Harold Demuren, consultant of the Volar Air Mobility gave presentations on the airworthiness certification of new energy aircrafts, the dynamics of the new energy aviation industry in Europe, global regulation of green aviation, and how to speed up the development of developing countries through sustainable aviation.

 

Finally, Ren He, Chief Technical Officer, of COMAC Marketing and Sales and Foreign Member of Russian Academy of Engineering chaired the discussion on electric-driven aero-power industry. Xue Songbai, CTO of Aerofugia, Yu Zhexun, CPO of Suzhou Zenio New Energy Technologies, Liu Dongliang, VP of Wolong Electric, and He Tianxing, VP of E-hang were engagedOn the morning of October 23, three parallel technical session were held. Each session invited five experts to present and five excellent students were invited to share papers.

The parallel session on New Aerospace Power and New Energy was hosted  by the School of Energy and Power Engineering of Beihang University. Prof. Dong Zhuo Ning and Prof. Liang Jie presided over the session and invited Prof. Diao Xungang of BUAA, Prof. Evangelos V Hristoforou, National Technical University of Athens, Prof. Yang Xiaojun, Civil Aviation University of China, Prof. Daniel Chua, National University of Singapore, and Associate Prof. Su Pei-Chen, Nanyang Technological University, focused on the areas of hydrogen energy aircraft, green hydrogen fuel performance enhancement, sustainable aviation fuel development and deployment, and proton exchange membrane fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells.

The parallel sessions on Smart ATM, UAM and Airport Operations Management were moderated by Mr. Xu Yajun,BUAA and Mrs. Xu Zhen, Director General of CSAA Technical Committee of Avionics and ATM. Prof. Zhang Yu from University of South Florida, Prof. Wang Xinglong from Civil Aviation University of China, Mr. Chunhua Kang from International Science and Technology Department of Beijing Daxing International Airport, Mr. Anna von Groote from European Civil Aviation Equipment Association, Mr. Zhang Lidong from Senior Engineer of China Aeronautical Radio Electronics Research Institute talked about the advanced ATM technology, key technology of civil aviation flight network intelligent operation, the construction and innovation of green airport, European and international standardization, green ATM avionics technology.

The parallel session on electric aircraft was hosted by CSAA Technical Committee of Electric Aviation. The session was moderated by Wang Mingkai, BIT and Chen Peng, Deputy Director of the technical committee. Prof. Qian Yuping from Tsinghua University, Prof. Li Weilin from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Prof. Xu Meng from Civil Aviation University of China, Prof. Wang Maolin from Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, and Prof. Wang Mingkai talked about the power propulsion technology for flying cars, the key technology of distributed electric culvert propulsion vehicles, the safety and airworthiness of electric propulsion system for electric aircraft, and the safety and airworthiness of manned unmanned aircrafts.