Covid-19 struck when the world which was already in turmoil with increasing nationalist trends in US and Europe, challenging the need for Globalisation. Aviation, the prime driver and beneficiary of Globalisation, was hit with thousands of aircraft grounded and massive retrenchment across all sectors.  On the other hand, this this also offers an opportunity to re-calibrate aviation technology in the wake of social and economic disruptions.

SIAE had to cancel our bi-annual SATEC 2020 (Singapore Aerospace Technology and Engineering Conference) and our regular Café Aeronautique networking events were also put on hold.  As with the new norm, SIAE is going virtual by kicking off our Online Aerospace Masterclass series on Thu, 19 Nov 2020 with the theme “Future of Aviation Post COVID-19”

SIAE was honoured to have invited two prominent aerospace engineers in different fields of research in this virtual event hosted by our President, Prof Lim Yeow Khee.  Dr Cyrille Schwob from Airbus discussed clean propulsion for future aircraft while Prog James Wang from NTU Singapore presented on the future of electric VTOL aircraft in the next 10-20 years.

“Zero Emission Aircraft” by  Dr Cyrille Schwob from Airbus

After a short welcome by Prof Lim, Dr Cyrile started with his presentation on “Zero Emission Aircraft”.  Airbus has set a long term of target of reducing carbon emission by 50% in 2050 (compared to 2005 baseline).  While Airbus has invested significantly in the research of renewable electric aircraft, Airbus is also developing hydrogen powered aircraft in parallel. Airbus had just announced 3 Hydrogen concept aircraft: Turbofan, Turboprop and Blended-wing Body.  He then touched on the challenges to adoption of Hydrogen fuel and the possibility of Sustainable Aviation Fuel as an intermediate carbon-reduction solution.  Finally in terms of timeline, it is projected for Entry-into-Service by year 2030-2035.

The future of electric VTOL aircraft in the next 10-20 years by Prof James Wang of NTU Singapore

Next, Prof Lim introduced Prof James Wang (NTU Singapore), who was named the “Steve Jobs of Rotorcraft” by WIRED magazine.  Prof Wang provided an expert insight into the future of eVTOL aircraft in the next 10-20 years.  The world has seen tremendous technology leap in electric power, as well as investment into eVTOL aircraft projects (>300).  Porsche Consulting predicted that by 2035, Asia Pacific region will lead the world in eVTOL usage with 45% of utilization.  Prof Wang ended by emphasizing the future is exciting and bright for Singapore aerospace engineers, as Singapore gears up to be in the fore front of eVTOL development.

After a short Question and Answer session, Prof Lim provided a round up and thanked the two distinguished guests for taking time to share in this webinar despite their busy schedule.

You can catch a video recording of this futuristic exciting webinar at our Youtube channel:

https://youtu.be/UVN-AwmNGm4