The Galician Aeronautical Consortium (CAG) held the 5th Edition of the International Aeronautical and Space Congress (CIAG) at the Airborne Research Centre in Rozas (Lugo).
The CIAG is the international conference of reference in the aeronautical sector in Galicia, organised every year by the Galician Aeronautical Consortium (CAG) and this year’s edition was supported by the Xunta de Galicia through the Civil UAVs Initiative.
Aerospace Industry Observatory of Galicia
The Congress began with the presentation of the latest reports published by the Aerospace Industry Observatory of Galiciaan initiative launched by the CAG in collaboration with the Xunta de Galicia, aims to consolidate Galicia as a centre of reference at national and international level in the development and dissemination of scientific, economic, statistical and perspective studies of the aerospace sector.
Guillermo Rey, Aeronautical Engineer at the University of Vigo, presented the analysis of the sector’s value chain, highlighting that “Galicia must continue to consolidate the facilities of the aerospace cluster to serve as a test and development bench for traffic management and aircraft certification technologies. These solutions can be exported, in the near future, nationally and internationally, “always taking care that companies reach the right commercial TRL levels at the right time. “
Ana Paúl, Technological Innovation Director, CTAGfocused on the study on R&D funding in the UAV sector, in which they have identified two major European funding programmes targeting the drone sector: “Horizon Europe and CEF, both aligned with the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) – Digital European Sky, which can accommodate in particular SMEs, through the calls of the European Innovation Council”.
Jose Manuel Pastor, Investigator, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (IVIE), presented the analysis of the evolution of companies in the aeronautics and aerospace sector in Spain and Galicia: “in 2020 the 122 companies participating in the aeronautical and aerospace value system (SVANAE) generated a Gross Value Added of 157.3 million euros and employed 3,300 people in Galicia”..
Technology Development, Innovation and Competitiveness
Daniel de Lorenzo Brotons, Director of Business Development at Indra FCASexplained the Phase 1B of the Future Air Combat System: “FCAS is more than an aircraft, it is a system of systems. in which we will integrate a new-generation fighter with remote operators all connected to the combat cloud. We are talking about 8 billion euros of investment in research and technology between 2023 and 2028, which will have a tractor effect to boost Spain’s industrial and technological base, reinforcing our national sovereignty”.
Abel Jiménez, Chief Engineer Sustainable Programmes, ITP Aeroexplained that the sector faces a major challenge in terms of sustainability, driven by the European Union itself: “There will always be gas turbines, the change of paradigm is very complex, but the truth is that the sector is facing a major challenge, in recent years, thanks to improved engine performance, coupled with improved aircraft performance, we have 82% more efficient aircraft”.. “At ITP, together with Rolls-Royce, we are making a new engine architecture based on an “ultra fan” that increases the blades of the wind turbine achieving 10% more efficiency through the use of titanium composites and a 100,000 horsepower gearbox.”
Jimenez also explained that electric propulsion has many limitations in aeronautics because of energy storage, which requires much more weight and space than a gas tank. “For an Airbus A320 aircraft we would need 170 tons of batteries, it is unfeasible, that’s why we are working on hybridisation, hydrogen and technological improvement of aircraft and engines.emissions, which go hand in hand with improvements in infrastructure, operational efficiency and emissions capture. It all adds up and we cannot disregard any option”.
Beatriz Ventero Pena, Head of Strategy and Operations, Boeing Research & Technology-Europe, addressed the prospects and challenges for aviation, which “include artificial intelligence, digitalisation, advanced materials and cybersecurity, electrification and sustainability, as well as increased access to space, which pose enormous challenges for the sector in an accelerated and unprecedented transformation”.
Héctor Guerrero, Director of the Technical Office for Space, Commissioner for Aerospace PERTE of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, explained that: “we have a 3 billion initiative, rising to 5 billion with private initiative. Of these public funds, only 30% are European Next Generation funds, the rest are general state budgets and feder funds in an effort to launch a driving initiative for the sector. It is now up to the industry to call for more investment to continue these projects, which are proving to be successful.
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
From the Spanish Aviation Safety Association (AESA), Montserrat Mestres, Director, and Marta Lestau, Director of Aircraft Safety, spoke to explain the White Paper on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in Spain: “We have more than 72,000 registered drone operators in Spain, almost twice as many as a year ago. That is why we are adapting the regulation with the preparation of a new Royal Decree. that seeks to complement the European regulation with more flexible requirements on minimum pilot age, geozones or the optimisation of aerodrome zones, while working towards a U-Space regulation in line with European standards”.
Stephane Vaubourg, U-space Drones Project Manager at European Aviation Safety Agency EASA explained that: “U-Space is an ambitious project to make European airspace a complex ecosystem in which all types of aircraft coexist in harmony, with a special focus on the safe and efficient coexistence of manned aircraft and drones,and for this, a good risk assessment and spatial planning is essential”.
U-Space envisages integrating a total of 100,000 commercial drone flights per day by 2030, with 45 cities under Innovative Air Mobility services and 20 member states providing emergency health services with drones. Turnover in the global drone ecosystem and its contribution to GDP is forecast at €15 billion.
Enrique Ventas, Project Manager of U-Space and UAM at ITG, added that “we have the challenge of integrating a large number of drones in complex airspaces in which we have great challenges to define the spaces, deploy support infrastructures, integrate correctly with manned traffic, generate standards and certifications and, not least, gain social acceptance for this revolution that needs proper regulation to achieve its full potential”.
Cristina Angulo, Senior PCM – Continuing Airworthiness General Aviation at EASA, explained that “eVTOL aircraft, with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, represent a revolution in urban airspace which, in order to be successful, requires its own regulations for its operational and design development. Coordination and cooperation between European actors is essential for this new regulation to be successful.
Closing
During the closing ceremony, Neves Seoane, Director, Rozas Airborne Research Centre, said: “From CIAR Rozas we offer our facilities and human capital to advise and accompany all public and private entities that want to develop aerospace technology. Our commitment to innovation is firm and it is a pleasure to be able to host congresses of the stature of this V CIAG and the monographic conference held yesterday and today together with the Galician Aeronautical Consortium and the Xunta de Galicia”.
Enrique Mallón, President of Galician Aeronautical Consortium (CAG), stressed: “The presence of our industry in aeronautics was scarce a couple of decades ago, but the momentum generated by the Galician Aeronautical Consortium (CAG) 15 years ago, together with the joint commitment with the Xunta de Galicia in recent years, has catapulted Galicia as an aeronautical pole of reference. Today, this industry generates more than 1,250 direct and 250 indirect jobs in Galicia. In 2023 we will continue on the growth path despite the challenges posed by the shortage of skilled professionals or the price of raw materials. However, we have a highly diversified and professionalised industry, based on innovation and technology as a seal of quality and which is attracting large international companies, as shown in this V CIAG, which only confirms what is already a meteoric race towards space, with a Galician stamp”.
Patricia Argerey, Director, Galician Innovation Agency: expressed her gratitude to all the professionals who participated in the event and pointed out that “bringing together in Rozas this unique ecosystem in which there are more and more new faces is a sign of the potential of this sector in Galicia”. She also congratulated the Galician Aeronautical Consortium for the organisation and success of the two conferences and reiterated his “call to Galician companies and knowledge centres to take advantage of the unique opportunity offered by the aeronautical and aerospace sector to continue generating wealth and employment in Galicia with the support of the Xunta”.
