The national civil aviation research programme (LuFo) of the Federal Ministry for Economic and Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) will in future give even more of a boost to climate-neutral aviation. The latest call for applications for funding will prioritise R&D projects that contribute significantly to reducing aviation’s impact on the environment.

Dr Anna Christmann, Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy, says: “The requirements and goals of the Paris climate agreement and the European Commission’s Green Deal pose huge challenges for the aviation industry. By channelling funding into highly innovative R&D projects, we want to see through the transition to emissions-free, climate-neutral flying while at the same time helping to reduce the consumption of materials and resources in the production process. I invite the entire sector once again to participate in the new LuFo round with excellent project outlines.”

In order to aid the process of transition in the aviation industry and further enhance the technological competitiveness of the German aviation industry, the support is based on three pillars:

  1. alternative climate-neutral propulsion systems,
  2. reduction of primary energy needs and resource consumption by cutting weight and improving the efficiency of propulsion systems, other systems and the aerodynamics,
  3. reduction of manufacturing times and costs primarily through closed material cycles.

The programme creates strong incentives to develop new climate technologies. For the first time, LuFo contains specific, ambitious targets against which new projects have to be judged. Moreover, the environmental and climate-related assessment criteria for the independent evaluation of the project outlines submitted will be further tightened.

The new call for applications under the Federal Aviation Research Programme – LuFo Climate VI-3 – appeared in the Federal Gazette on Monday. LuFo Climate VI-3 is the third call for applications within the scope of the EU-notified sixth Federal Aviation Research Programme of the BMWK. PT-LF, the aviation research project executing agency at the German Aerospace Center, has been tasked with processing applications.

In parallel to the new aviation research programme, the SME Aviation Advice team has been set up at PT-LF. The service particularly offers personal advice on funding, research topics and the networking of SMEs.