The German government has the goal, to transform the German economy into the world leading energy efficient one and strategically reduce energy consumption by 50%. The DLR aviation strategy takes main factors as digitalization and climate change into account and heads for an emission reduction aviation. Airports, with their high energy demand on air- and landside, have a significant potential to contribute to emission and energy reduction.
The DLR project THOR (Towards Zero Emission Airports) evaluates different ways and possibilities to achieve emission free and energy efficient airport operations, which is set as a goal by airports around the world by 2050.
Based on analyses of the current situation and scenarios for future aviation developments (traffic numbers, traffic mix) technologies and processes are investigated allowing airports of the future to be operated ecologically and economically. Taking a holistic approach, THOR includes different areas of operation and different stakeholders to look for overall optimization of the system airport.
In addition to basic processes of handling passengers or freight, THOR covers the airport as an overall energy and emission system. Energy load, generation and storage are directly connected to airport operations and have interactions and effects on business decisions.
Different DLR institutes will bring together their knowledge in specialized areas of airport operations and energy systems to generate an overall view and build an environment to evaluate and validate future operations in terms of emissions and energy usage.
The central goal for THOR is to generate a roadmap, describing promising technologies, processes and infrastructure, that are relevant to reach Zero Emission Airport Operations. Developed concepts and models will be evaluated, classified and summarized in terms of ecological, technical, operational, economic, political and societal aspects. The project will be the base for further research and development, that are required for deployment and implementation at airports.
Six DLR Institutes from various research fields have grouped under the coordination of the Institute of Flight Guidace to pursue this project holistically.
Project
THOR (Towards Zero Emission Airports)
Participants
DLR Institute of Flight Guidance (coordinator) DLR Institute of Air Transport DLR Institute of Data Science DLR Institute of Transportation Systems DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems DLR Institute of Combustion Technology
