Dubai Airshow: Sustainability is urgent – and it’s everywhere

Every conversation with an airline chief here at the show has sustainability at its core, according to Chris Cholerton, president civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce.

When the last show was held in 2019, the decarbonisation agenda was important, but the contrast between then and now is clear.

“There really is a deeper recognition of urgency, about tangible delivery and a commitment to achieving objectives,” said Cholerton.

And, for Rolls-Royce, a company where most of its products rely on burning fossil fuel, the mindset of seeing the drive to net zero emission as a huge opportunity, not only for environmental gains but for strong business reasons, is important. “We see ourselves at the heart of the solution,” he said.

But airline leaders want solutions and results now on sustainability, which is why Rolls-Royce was pleased to announce an agreement at the show “facilitating the development of sustainable aviation as part of Etihad’s broader strategic sustainability programme”.

Signed by Cholerton and Tony Douglas, group chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, the partnership targets the application of electrification technologies and hybrid systems, together with the use of electric motors for commuter aircraft and the fast-emerging urban air mobility (UAMs) sector.

It has deliverables in the deal, with Rolls-Royce and Etihad working alongside partners, including Airbus, to test and apply new technology solutions and developments in sustainability to Etihad’s incoming fleet of A350s, spearheaded by the ‘Sustainability50’ flagship aircraft.

The sustainability agreement with Etihad is the first of its type to be signed by Rolls-Royce with an airline and will be used “as a focus of innovation on many aspects”, said Cholerton.

Such deals run alongside an on-going drive to improve the fuel efficiency and operation of its engines, with developments to improve time on wing and the use of digital analytics and predictive maintenance, said Cholerton.

“There are all very relevant to sustainability,” he concluded.