Clean Aviation Recognizes Five Sustainable Aviation Trailblazers

LE BOURGET—The European Union's (EU) Clean Aviation public-private partnership has honored five individuals making strides in aviation sustainability.

This year, in their first iteration, the High Five Awards were presented during a ceremony at the show's Paris Air Lab—showcasing green developments in the sector—on June 20. The five recipients will act as ambassadors for Clean Aviation, a research project seeking to advance technologies that will reduce the aerospace industry's environmental footprint, such as hydrogen and hybrid-electric propulsion.

Amelia Gilchrist, a mechanical engineering student at Durham University, England, is currently on a placement year at Rolls-Royce's factory in Derby, England. Rolls-Royce is involved in Clean Aviation, despite the UK having left the EU.

Gilchrist has focused on the role of manufacturing in sustainable aviation, especially through sustainable production methods. Through her work, she has developed new low-carbon approaches for manufacturing processes.

Jean-Christophe Lambert, co-founder and CEO at France's Ascendance Technologies, is developing electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft and hybrid-electric propulsion technologies. In a previous role, he was instrumental in Airbus' E-Fan team, which conducted a Channel crossing between England and France with a light electric aircraft in 2015.

Tine Tomazic, the outspoken director of engineering and programs at Slovenia's Pipistrel Aircraft, has 15 years of experience in electric flight. He was part of the team that developed the Taurus Electro motor-glider, one of the very first electric aircraft that made it to production.

Christiane Voigt, head of the cloud physics department at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics within DLR, the German aerospace center, is a leading expert on assessing the aviation sector's climate footprint. She focuses on technologies to reduce the industry's carbon dioxide (CO₂) and non-CO₂ impacts.

Henry Werij—dean at the faculty of aerospace engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands—was a driving force in the development of the Flying-V aircraft concept with Airbus and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. His work has fostered international partnerships throughout academia and industry.

“We need trailblazers who are able to raise awareness, chart new courses and catapult efforts towards sustainable aviation in line with European Green Deal ambitions," said Rosalinde van der Vlies, awards jury co-chair and director of the Clean Planet Directorate at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

Axel Krein, jury co-chair and executive director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, said: “Our five winners are inspiring others to join our journey towards a greener future. I very much look forward to working closely together with them as High Five ambassadors.”

The High Five awards received close to 100 applications from 19 countries. The jury said the winners demonstrated commitment, innovative thinking and leadership.

Aviation Week Network was part of the jury.