With the development of their C919 jet, showing innovative improvements in the foundational technology for aviation, China’s government has laid out large targets they are aiming to reach in the near future within the sustainable fuels and electric power in civil aviation sectors. China has chosen to set up these targets as they are aiming to build the next generation of airliners and be able to compete with large aviation manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.

The targets that have been laid out, include the milestones China expects to reach in order to achieve the emission goals they will have to tackle. These goals and milestones align with the 2023-2035 development guidelines the government have set out around green aviation, these guidelines include the establishment of a comprehensive green aviation ecosystem characterised by new energy aircraft, unmanned operation, electrification and intelligence. These guidelines have been created to highlight Beijing’s intention to continue to develop and grow their emerging aviation industry, after their recent success. Very recently China developed the C919, the commercial jet, which debuted this summer and was a huge success within the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry.

The guidelines said, “China has accumulated technological advantages in new energy equipment, such as electric vehicles and rail transport, forming an advanced industrial foundation for the green development of the aviation manufacturing industry.”

The guidelines document was agreed upon between four high-level government bodies, these included, Chief industry regulator the Civil Aviation Administration of China, plus the ministries of industry and information technology, finance, and science and technology. Within this document the government bodies also included the milestones they expect China’s aviation industry to reach by 2025. These include things like, “further improvements in energy efficiency, emissions reduction, electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft (eVTOL) pilot operations and key technological breakthroughs in hydrogen-powered aircraft”.

China has a lot of experience in the aviation industry, with previous projects such as developments on Aerofugia Technology which focuses on low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and eVTOL passenger aircraft. With this previous experience, current projects hope to be able to benefit from China’s progress so far.

Whilst all these developments are occurring the ‘home-grown’ C919 is on course to become a first-class vessel within the safety, environmental protection, cost-effectiveness and comfort sectors.

The former national chair of the aviation and aerospace working group at the EU Chamber of Commerce in China Tammy Qiu, said, “Being one of the world’s major airframe manufacturers, our technology and equipment are both relatively state of the art. Green manufacturing is something all the industry players place strong emphasis on. In this industry, all the stakeholders have worked relentlessly toward the goal of ‘net zero emissions by 2050.’ They are approaching this objective from different angles, whether it’s the equipment, fuel, or the entire aircraft manufacturing process.”