The UK government has announced a £103 million investment in funding for new cutting-edge green aerospace technologies.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds formally launched the strategy at the 2024 Farnborough Airshow today.
Five R&D projects are being funded to help pioneer innovations including zero emission hydrogen-powered flight, new sustainable propulsion systems and turbine technologies. These are with GKN Aerospace, Queens University, Rolls-Royce, Short Brothers and ZeroAvia.
Delivered through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, the scheme is set to create thousands of jobs. The purpose of the ATI Programme is to grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace and accelerate the transition to net zero aviation.
“Our world-class aerospace sector added almost £40 billion to the economy last year, and by backing it to pioneer cutting-edge new technologies we’re delivering economic growth and supporting high-skilled jobs in every part of the UK,” said Reynolds.
“It’s fitting that I’m launching this new support here at Farnborough Airshow, where the best of British innovation is showcased on the global stage, reinforcing our commitment to placing innovation and manufacturing at the heart of our Industrial Strategy.”
John Goudie, CEO of SLiNK-TECH which designed the UK’s first vertiport at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, expressed his excitement for the new funding. “Electric aviation has seemed farfetched, but with advancements in technology it is becoming feasible to operate some missions with battery or hydrogen powered aircraft. We hope this funding fosters innovation across established aerospace firms and UK SME’s, and fly us faster towards “Destination Zero” with zero-carbon emission aircraft.”
However, whilst this funding will serve as a boost for the Urban Air Mobility market, the CEO of Skyfly believes support for the smaller SMEs in the eVTOL space is still lacking.
“This announcement whilst very positive for the aerospace industry in general – it unfortunately highlights the fact that funding is going to the same names we have seen for years,” Michael Thompson told Zag.
Thompson said in a recent interview with Zag Daily that he believes the eVTOL industry should be developed from the ground up, from grassroots through to commercial operation – instead, he argues, eVTOL has worked the other way round. “It has begun with larger air taxi services rather than starting with smaller aircraft and private pilots.”
