With its publication ‘The Energy-Efficient Aircraft of the Future: A Long-Term Perspective’, the German Aerospace Society (DGLR) is focusing on the classic disciplines of aircraft construction in order to enable climate neutrality in air transport by 2050. The paper will be officially presented at the DGLR Annual Conference on 20 November 2025 at the ZAL Centre for Applied Aviation Research in Hamburg. It presents targeted measures for significantly improving the energy efficiency of aircraft in air transport – with direct positive effects on the carbon footprint. The paper is now available for free download on the DGLR website.
The goal of drastically reducing the climate impact of aviation and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 poses enormous challenges for the aviation industry. This is only possible with renewable and sustainable energy sources such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) or green hydrogen. However, their availability remains limited and fuel costs will rise significantly in the course of the energy transition. Targeted measures that significantly improve energy efficiency in aviation – both in aircraft operation and aircraft design – are therefore essential. To this end, the eleven authors from industry and research discuss various technological perspectives in ‘The Energy-Efficient Aircraft of the Future: A Long-Term Perspective’ in a balanced approach that considers both the potential and the challenges associated with a significant improvement in energy efficiency.
Based on the findings, they outline a way to reduce the energy consumption of future aircraft by at least 50 per cent. "Innovative system solutions are needed to ensure that energy savings of up to 50 per cent in the aircraft of the future are not only conceivable but can also be implemented with the required reliability. Systems engineering must work closely with traditional disciplines to make holistic solutions and synergies achievable," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Thielecke, author and head of the Institute of Aircraft Systems Engineering at Hamburg University of Technology.
Improved energy efficiency has a direct positive impact on an aircraft's carbon footprint. This is because less energy is required to operate an aircraft, which means less fuel is consumed. Some key technologies can be integrated into future classes of large transport aircraft well before 2050. These include reducing aerodynamic drag, reducing weight through the consistent use of carbon fibre composites (CFC) in airframe structures, the synergistic integration of new propulsion technologies, and active aircraft control. The latter enables, for example, the active reduction of gust loads, manoeuvre loads and even flutter control, which significantly reduces aircraft weight and enables the realisation of wings with extremely high aspect ratios. Possible challenges in future aircraft configurations for a competitive aircraft (both in economic and ecological terms) and challenges with regard to integration into the overall air transport system are also being considered.
"In the debate on sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen, we must not neglect the further development of the classic disciplines of aircraft construction. They can make a decisive contribution to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. We at the DGLR are committed to pursuing this path as an industry in order to leverage the potential that exists here – regardless of industrial or political directions and with a focus on scientific and technical feasibility," says Roland Gerhards, President of the German Aerospace Society, on the publication of the DGLR paper.
Further details and a download of the paper can be found in the original DLRG press release: Up to 50 per cent more energy-efficient aircraft – New DGLR publication paves the way for climate neutrality in aviation (in German).
The authors
Dipl.-Ing. Henning Butz, formerly Airbus
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Friedrichs, TU Braunschweig
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Rolf Henke, DGLR Senate │ Coordinator for Aviation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Bremen │ RWTH Aachen University
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mirko Hornung, DGLR Senate │ Technical University of Munich I Bauhaus Luftfahrt
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Klenner, DGLR Senate │ formerly Airbus
Prof. a D. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Radespiel, DGLR Senate │ formerly TU Braunschweig
Dipl.-Ing Bernd Räckers, formerly Airbus
Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Reckzeh, DGLR Presidium │ Airbus
Prof. a. D. Dr.-Ing. Cord Rossow, formerly DLR │ Technical University of Braunschweig
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Thielecke, Technical University of Hamburg
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Wiedemann, DLR │ Technical University of Braunschweig
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