Core tips：Airbus presented its technological roadmap on 24 and 25 March in Toulouse at its Airbus Summit event. The event provided an opportunity to take a look at advances for commercial aviation, with plans for a single-aisle aircraft, and the ZEROe project, dedi
At the 2025 Airbus Summit, held in Toulouse on 24 and 25 March, Airbus presented its vision of the commercial aviation roadmap for the next 25 years. The company unveiled potential technological building blocks for a new-generation single-aisle aircraft that could be brought into service in the second half of the 2030s. The aircraft manufacturer also outlined its revised roadmap for technologies associated with hydrogen-powered flight.
In the open fan engine, the blades that generate the thrust are not enclosed in a nacelle. This allows air to circulate efficiently, reducing fuel consumption. Airbus is collaborating with CFM propulsion experts on the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) open fan engine demonstrator, to study the reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions that could be as much as 20% compared with today’s most efficient single-aisle engines. Airbus plans to test RISE in flight on its A380 by 2030.
The aircraft could also have long folding wings compatible with airport gates, providing aerodynamic gains and a greater wingspan in flight for greater lift and reduced drag.
For Airbus, wing design remains a key driver of innovation. In 2023, the company opened the Wing Technology Development Centre at its Filton site in the UK. This centre houses the Wing of Tomorrow (WoT) research and technology programme, which is heavily involved in the design, manufacture and assembly of wings for future generations of aircraft.
The next generation of aircraft is expected to be 20-30% more fuel efficient than the current generation, and should be able to fly on up to 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) – fuels derived from waste, biomass, recycled oils or animal fats. Airbus is also working to advance hybrid-electric propulsion, which supplements the use of conventional jet fuel or sustainable fuel with electricity from batteries or fuel cells. This method could reduce an aircraft’s carbon emissions by up to 5%. As with cars, electric hybridisation can reduce fuel consumption by using otherwise wasted energy to power non-propulsive functions.
In terms of materials, one of the main avenues for improvement is the search for biomass-based composites and thermoplastics that can replace the lightness and strength of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics, with the added benefit of recyclability.
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