Worldwide leaders in the aerospace and automotive industries, Airbus and Renault Group, signed a research and development agreement to enhance transversalities and synergies to boost companies’ electrification roadmaps, improving their respective product range.
For the first time, two European leaders from different industries are sharing engineering knowledge to shape the future of hybrid-electric aircraft. Aviation is an extremely demanding field in terms of both safety and energy consumption, and so is the car industry. At Renault Group, our 10 years of experience in the electric vehicle value chain gives us some of the strongest feedback from the field and expertise in the performance of battery management systems. Driven by the same ambition to innovate and reduce the carbon footprint, our engineering teams are exchanging with those of Airbus to converge transversal technologies that will enable both hybrid aircraft to be operated and the vehicles of tomorrow to be developed.
Gilles Le Borgne, EVP, Engineering, Renault Group
According to the press release, this partnership will aid Airbus in maturing technologies associated with future hybrid-electric aircraft. It will be detailed at the Airbus Summit from November 30 to December 1.
Collaboration of Airbus’ and Renault’s engineering teams
As part of the partnership, Airbus’ and Renault Group’s engineering teams will collaborate to mature technologies related to energy storage, remaining one of the main roadblocks to long-range electric vehicle development.
Notably, the cooperation agreement will cover technology bricks related to battery weight improvement and energy management optimization. It will seek the best pathways to move from current cell chemistries (advanced lithium-ion) to all solid-state designs, which can double the batteries’ energy density in the 2030 timeframe.
Joint work to study future batter’s lifecycle
In addition, the partnership will study future batteries’ full lifespan, from production to recyclability, to prepare the industrialization of these future battery designs while assessing their carbon footprint across their entire lifespan.
This cross-industry partnership with Renault Group will help us mature the next generation of batteries as part of Airbus’ electrification roadmap. Reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a unique challenge that requires cooperation across sectors, starting today. Bringing together Renault Group’s experience in electric vehicles with our own track record in electric flight demonstrators will allow us to accelerate the development of the disruptive technologies required for future hybrid aircraft architectures in the 2030s and beyond. It will also foster the emergence of common technical and regulatory standards in support of the clean mobility solutions needed to achieve our climate targets.
Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer
Technological trends are moving in the same place. Airbus and Renault Group’s cooperation on electrification will play a crucial role in changing the transport landscape, contributing to the ambition of net-zero emissions in the automotive and aviation sector by 2050.
Airbus Summit
The Airbus Summit will be streamed live from 09:00 CET Paris time on November 30. To learn more about the Airbus and Renault Group partnership, join the “Let’s get hybrid” round table from 13:45 to 15:00 (including the Q&A portion) here.
