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First General Assembly of the Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation [Public Session]

AZEA General Assembly - General

On 14 November, the General Assembly of the Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation (AZEA) will take place. This will be the first such forum of the industrial alliance since it was announced by Commissioner Thierry Breton on 24 June 2022. The Alliance counts on more than 80 Members that represent a wide spectrum of stakeholders from the aeronautics industry (more information about membership on the Alliance Webpage).

During this forum, the Commission will present to its Members proposals for a number of working groups. These working groups will address topics that are considered to carry priority, including airport infrastructure and energy requirements of hydrogen and electric aircraft, certification, standardisation and regulatory needs and operational and environmental considerations. A separate work stream will consider what deployment scenario for hydrogen and battery-electric aircraft to target when these become available. The deployment scenario will notably help identify and prepare for the necessary investments.

Live Streamed Public Session

Watch the Keynote Address and Roundtable with Commissioner Thierry Breton [10.30-12.00 CET]

Before the official start of the General Assembly, an interactive panel discussion will take place. Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, is expected to deliver a keynote address and participate in the roundtable discussion with high-level stakeholders of the Alliance.

Click here to follow the Public Streaming

Thierry Breton Keynote AZEA -

The Roundtable discussion

azea rtdl

Speakers:

Glenn Llewellyn, Vice-President Zero Emission Aircraft at Airbus

Mr Llewellyn joined Airbus in 2004 to work on the A350 programme before becoming Airbus’ Head of Innovation and Research in 2014. In 2017 he was named Vice-President in charge of zero emissions technology and in 2020 became VP in charge of zero emission aircraft. In September of that year, Airbus announced that it was working on three hydrogen-powered concept aircraft and that it would have one of these models certified by 2035.

Jérémy Caussade, Co Founder of Aura Aero 

Mr Caussade graduated in aerospace engineering and between 2012 and 2020 held various posts at Airbus. In 2018 he founded Toulouse-based start-up Aura Aero of which he is today president and chief engineer, working on two electric aircraft projects – including a 19-seat sub-regional hybrid design that could enter service in 2027.

Andreas Kollbye Aks, CEO, Widerøe Zero 

Mr Aks is in charge of the sustainability transformation of Wideroe, Norway’s oldest- and Scandinavia’s largest regional airline. Widerøe is partnering with various aircraft manufacturers in some of the most advanced projects to prepare for zero-emission flights. The company intends to field electric nine-seater aircraft by 2027 and larger regional aircraft by the end of the decade.

Meiltje de Groot, CEO, Groningen Airport 

Ms de Groot took on her current position as CEO of Groningen Airport Eelde in January 2021. She previously held management positions at various Dutch airports, having since started to work for the Schiphol Group in 1997. In 2017 she was elected Chair of the Association of Dutch Airports, and in October this year she was also named Chair of the Economic Board of the North Netherlands.

Groningen Airport has the ambition of becoming the first 'Hydrogen Valley Airport' and is a partner in a project co-financed by the EU to set up an electrolyser on its terrain to produce green hydrogen for light aircraft, drones and ground equipment. The airport has also announced that it intends to become a base for electric aircraft as from 2026.

Jo Dardenne, Aviation Director at Transport & Environment (T&E)

Ms Dardenne joined the environmental campaign group T&E in 2019, first as Aviation Manager and since June as Aviation Director. Prior to that, Ms Dardenne headed Grayling’s transport practice and before that worked for Dow Chemicals. Ms Dardenne led the recent work of the Platform on Sustainable Finance in the context of the EU taxonomy to develop sustainability criteria for aviation. T&E has been a long-standing advocate for change for aviation, given the industry's lack of progress to address carbon emissions and says that “for the rest of this decade, the only way to reduce emissions from flying substantially is to reduce flying, so all the more reason to get zero emission technologies up and running fast.”

Moderation

The round-table will be moderated by Ms. Cathy Buyck, Brussels-based reporter, feature writer, columnist and editor specialising in aviation.

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The event is kindly hosted on Eurocontrol premises

  • aeronautical industry
  • Monday 14 November 2022, 10:30 - 12:00 (CET)
  • Online only

Practical information

When
Monday 14 November 2022, 10:30 - 12:00 (CET)
Where
Online only
Languages
English