Published 3/28/2025

Airbus outlines next-gen single-aisle aircraft technology focuses, revised ZEROe project roadmap

Outlined technology bricks — including foldable wings, more efficient engines and propulsion and composite materials — could support a planned single-aisle next decade, plus Airbus’s renewed commitment of a commercially viable H2 aircraft.

Edited by: Grace Nehls

Senior Managing Editor, CompositesWorld and Products Finishing

Hydrogen and a revised ZEROe project roadmap

In addition to outlining plans for its next-generation single-aisle aircraft, Airbus reconfirmed its commitment to bring to market a commercially viable hydrogen aircraft and presented some of the key technology building blocks that will enable the advent of a fully electric, fuel-cell powered commercial aircraft — a pathway which stands out as the most promising, following years of research into hydrogen aviation.

These technologies were notably showcased as part of a new, notional concept of a hydrogen aircraft powered by four, 2-megawatt electric propulsion engines, each driven by a fuel cell system that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy. The four fuel cell systems would be supplied via two liquid hydrogen tanks. This concept will continue to be refined over the coming years as additional tests will help mature the technologies associated with hydrogen storage and distribution, as well as with the propulsion systems.

Beyond these aircraft technologies, Airbus will continue to foster the emergence of a hydrogen aviation economy and the associated regulatory framework.

For related content read “Airbus pushes ZEROe aircraft project timeline to 2040s.”

Airbus wants industry to imagine a “single-aisle aircraft with wings designed with advanced aerodynamics and biomimicry in mind to generate significantly more lift, reducing fuel consumption and increasing efficiency.” Innovations are being considered for its engines, wings, batteries and materials use.

Long, foldable wings. In 2023, Airbus opened the Wing Technology Development Centre (WTDC) at its Filton site in the U.K. It is home to the Wing of Tomorrow (WOT) research and technology program, which is heavily involved in the design of the wing for future aircraft. But the program goes beyond design, targeting improvements in new wing manufacturing and assembly technologies.

While technical details are being kept tightly under wraps, some of the possibilities for a new wing have already been publicly disclosed, with the most prominent being a folding wing. This gives the aircraft a longer wingspan in flight, increasing lift and reducing drag, while still making it compatible with airport gates.

More energy-efficient engines. Airbus says it is investigating the potential of a few promising engines technologies. One primary contender is the open fan, in which the blades that generate thrust are larger and not contained by a nacelle to allow air to move efficiently through the engine.

Airbus is working with propulsion experts CFM (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) on the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) open fan engine demonstrator featuring carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) blades, which aims to show how this technology could reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by 20% compared to today’s most efficient single-aisle engines. Airbus plans to flight test RISE on its A380 flight test aircraft by the end of the decade.

Electrification, hybridization improvements. Airbus is also working on advancing hybrid-electric propulsion, which supplements the use of conventional jet fuel or SAF with electricity from batteries or fuel cells. This has the potential to reduce an aircraft’s carbon emissions by up to 5%. The EcoPulse demonstrator, a joint project between Airbus, Daher and Safran, has given significant insight into the use of lithium-ion batteries onboard an aircraft with a high-voltage network. Airbus is also exploring the potential of solid-state batteries.

Novel materials for increased efficiency. According to Airbus, overall materials have shifted from being weaker and heavier to now being high-strength and lightweight. This has led to improvements in safety, fuel efficiency and aircraft performance. But Airbus believes there is more progress to be made. One key pathway for improvement is researching how biomass composites and thermoplastics could replace CFRP, and the progress being targeted is not limited to weight reduction. Airbus is also seeking to make the aircraft manufacturing process both more sustainable — by choosing materials that are more easily recyclable — and to make it more efficient, with less waste and quicker assembly. The company cites the Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator (MFFD) program as an example of these kinds of improvements.

“Airbus teams are working relentlessly toward the key decisions that will ultimately finalize the choices of the aircraft’s engine type, wing design and additional innovations once their maturity is demonstrated,” says Karim Mokaddem, Airbus head of R&T.

Airbus believes that each of these technology building blocks will play a key role in enabling a new generation of commercial aircraft that will deliver step change improvements in all domains for efficiency and productivity and bring a considerable contribution to the decarbonization of air travel in the decades to come.

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