Delft University of Technology (Dutch: Technische Universiteit Delft) also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technological university.
Together with the Dutch aviation ecosystem and aligned with international partners, TU Delft is committed to a net 50% of 2005 CO2 emission in 2050.
The university's main pillars of actions are the following:
- Develop more fuel efficient planes (e.g. Flying-V, which is in an early development stage) and engines.
- Invest in alternative transport means, e.g. high-speed trains, for shorter distances.
- Improve direct, optimal routing via free route airspace and decentralized ATM concepts, continuous descent approaches, improved trajectory predictability etc.
- Invest in sustainable energy/fuel.
TU Delf is aiming for climate neutral aviation. For this purpose, they have three main focus:
Reduce energy consumption
They make aircraft and aircraft engines as efficient as possible. Their Flying-V aircraft design aims at saving 20% on fuel consumption compared to state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft, like the Airbus A350, just as a result of improved aerodynamics and reduced weight.
Sustainable energy
They want aviation to run on a mix of sustainable energy and propulsion technologies. They work on electric and electric/hybrid aircraft. They also work on the sustainable production of green aviation fuels, such as synthetic kerosene, LNG and hydrogen.
Sustainable aviation operations
They study the effect of new aircraft and fuels on the earth's atmosphere. By doing so they can optimize route and cruise altitude to minimize climate effects, and to reduce air and noise pollution.
