This is what passenger air travel will look like in 50 years from now
In the project DEvelopment Pathways for Aviation up to 2070 (DEPA 2070), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) has examined in detail the future development of passenger aviation up to the year 2070. DEPA 2070 builds on the findings of its predecessor project, DEPA 2050, and offers concrete perspectives for the sustainable transformation of aviation. For this study, we analysed trends in the field of new, sustainable fuels.
Duration: 1. Januar 2022 bis 31. Dezember 2024
Solutions for the future of aviation
With DEPA 2070, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) has developed comprehensive scenarios for the future of passenger aviation in order to identify new technological solutions that reconcile ecological and economic goals. The project analyses long-term trends in areas such as propulsion technology, alternative fuels and maintenance and thus supports the strategic orientation of aviation. External influencing factors such as population growth, energy prices and geopolitical developments are taken into account.
The project was led by the DLR Institute of Aeronautics, with the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology, the DLR Institute of Electrified Aircraft Propulsion, the DLR Institute of Maintenance and Modification and the DLR Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics also involved.
In the previous DEPA 2050 study the project team analysed two particularly likely scenarios. The conservative scenario assumes continued moderate technological development in aircraft and flight management. In this scenario, emissions continue to rise despite efficiency improvements due to projected growth. In the progressive scenario, several new technologies are combined and sustainable fuels are used on a large scale. The study shows that this scenario is the only way to reverse the trend in global aviation emissions.
For the current study, which extends the previous one to the year 2070, we worked with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Air Transportation to analyse numerous studies on the market introduction of SAF in order to derive even more precise figures. Together with the project team, we determined the corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions from aviation.
Project Completion and Results
The DEPA 2070 project was completed at the end of 2024. The main findings are published in a detailed project report as well as a concise summary.
Despite differing development pathways, all scenarios examined show that technological innovations are crucial to securing the long-term competitiveness of the aviation industry. Especially the early deployment of alternative propulsion systems and energy sources offers not only ecological but also economic opportunities in global markets.
DEPA 2070 demonstrated that with ambitious technologies and sustainable energy carriers, aviation can achieve its climate goals – while continuing to make a significant contribution to the economy and society.
DEPA 2070
Übersicht über die Projektbestandteile von DEPA 2027
