Comparison of the Potential Environmental Impact Improvements of Future Aircraft Concepts Using Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

In today’s aeronautical research, several future aircraft concepts are being discussed. Among them are electric, hydrogen and alternative fuel powered aircraft. Often, their potential environmental impact improvement compared to conventional aircraft is measured by the reduction of harmful emissions during the flight. However, a serious comparison with conventional aircraft is only possible if the total environmental impact over the entire life cycle is analyzed. This paper aims at calculating the total environmental impact of electric, hydrogen and alternative fuel powered aircraft and at comparing it to that of the reference aircraft Airbus A320 200. In a first step, the future concepts are being conceptually designed based on the requirements of the reference aircraft. In a second step, their environmental impact is calculated using a life cycle assessment. Finally the environmental impact of the future concepts is compared to that of the A320. Results show that the way of generating electricity has a dominating influence on the environmental impact of all considered future concepts. Using today’s electricity mix, their environmental impact is mostly even worse than that of the reference aircraft. Only if a high share of renewable energy sources is used for the generation of electricity, the future concepts can substantially improve environmental impact.