Farnborough airshow to focus on cleaner flying and potential fighter jet deal
Low-emission air travel and a potential deal for Japan to help build the UK’s next-generation Tempest fighter jet are set to take centre stage at the annual Farnborough airshow this week.
Executives from global aerospace manufacturers and airlines will gather at the airport in Hampshire after a four-year gap. The show, which begins on Monday, normally happens every two years but was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, as the aviation industry faced potential collapse.
Analysts expect hundreds of orders for new Airbus and Boeing planes during the show as airline passenger numbers bounce back, but manufacturers have emphasised efforts to reduce planes’ environmental impact, even as they expect a resurgence in sales of commercial jets using fossil fuels.
Rolls-Royce, the FTSE 100 maker of jet engines, said it planned to test engines fuelled by hydrogen “to prove the fuel can safely and efficiently deliver power for small- to mid-size aircraft from the mid-2030s onwards”.
GKN Aerospace, owned by the FTSE 100 buyout investor Melrose, said its Fokker business in the Netherlands would be part of a €112m investment plan to work on high-voltage, high-power wiring needed to run fully electric engines.
Brazil’s Embraer, a manufacturer of smaller passenger jets for regional travel, on Sunday announced a deal with Raizen, a Brazilian energy company, to scale up production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – kerosene made from non-fossil sources. The aviation industry is betting heavily on SAF to deliver net-zero flight for larger jets, although supply is still meagre.
On the military side, the FTSE 100 weapons maker BAE Systems will on Monday give an update on the Tempest fighter jet, which could include an announcement
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