What links Airbus' ZEROe project with Germany's salt caverns? Hydrogen. A promising carbon-free fuel, it's an attractive energy vector for Hamburg's future energy needs. Industry and the City of Hamburg are investing heavily in hydrogen infrastructure and research. Moving from fossil aviation fuels to hydrogen is going to be a complex, costly busin…

H2 is on a roll: Hydrogen seems to be gaining traction as a fuel in aviation, at least in Europe. From successful test flights by ZeroAvia to recent updates to Germany's national hydrogen strategy - which doubled the production target for green H2 by 2030 - the pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together. More and more airports are collaboratin…

What will be the single most important technology in decarbonising aviation over the next 20-30 years? Dr Ivan Terekhov, Director of Research Intelligence at Lufthansa Innovation Hub has the answer. In this podcast he talks - among many other fascinating topics - about his team's recent hype cycle analysis and what it reveals about technology readi…

In February 2023, the Brazilian government sank a retired aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean. Scrapping the rusting hulk in the usual way had became difficult and prohibitively costly, the Brazilian government decided, in part because hazardous materials like asbestos used in the boat's construction had pushed up disposal costs. The episode is …

Develop a truly sustainable cabin concept that saves weight, prioritises recycling and make passengers more comfortable: that's the ambitious brief for FairCraft, a radical new cabin concept that uses textiles and other easily recyclable materials to push the boundaries of cabin design. Designed to pursue all three of these goals at once, FairCraft…

While the aviation industry aims to reach net zero by 2050, many of the technologies needed to get there are still years or even decades away. What role can start ups and start up culture play in accelerating the process and getting those crucial developments available faster? How can we actively harness the creativity of young businesspeople and r…

How can changes in airport operations contribute to aviation's goal of reaching net zero? What role should offsets play? What can airports do to decarbonise? Has the COVID pandemic influenced the conversation around sustainable aviation? These were among the many pressing questions we discussed on this episode with Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO at Ham…

Welcome to this podcast series! Our first outing is with Roland Gerhards, CEO of ZAL Center for Aeronautical Research in Hamburg. Roland is a veteran of the aviation industry, having worked at Airbus for 15 years on the A380, A350 and A330 programmes. ZAL is one of the world's foremost centers for applied aviation research, it's co-owned by Airbus,…