Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ICARe (International Cooperation in Aviation Research)
Reporting period: 2019-04-01 to 2020-05-31
ICARe is a Coordination and Support Action addressing the international cooperation area of the topic MG-1.5-2016-2017: Identification of gaps, barriers and needs in aviation research of the Horizon 2020 programme.
In March 2011, the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation (R&I) in Europe (ACARE) released an updated European Union Vision: “Flightpath 2050” for aviation. Based on this vision, ACARE elaborated a Strategic R&I Agenda (SRIA). International cooperation will support the European Union to meeting the Flightpath 2050 vision and associated SRIA.
ICARe’s overall objective is to facilitate and increase international cooperation in civil
aviation. ICARe will assess the interest (both technical and non-technical) of collaboration with 21 target countries and provide the European Commission (EC) with recommendations for future actions. For each country, ICARe examines lessons learned from past cooperation and technologies and areas of interest.
21 target countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Israel*, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Serbia*, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland*, Turkey*, Ukraine*, United Arab Emirates and the USA, (*: associated countries to Horizon 2020). The scope is expanded for five countries (Canada, China, Japan, Russia and US) through bilateral dialogues.
In March 2011, the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation (R&I) in Europe (ACARE) released an updated European Union Vision: “Flightpath 2050” for aviation. Based on this vision, ACARE elaborated a Strategic R&I Agenda (SRIA). International cooperation will support the European Union to meeting the Flightpath 2050 vision and associated SRIA.
ICARe’s overall objective is to facilitate and increase international cooperation in civil
aviation. ICARe will assess the interest (both technical and non-technical) of collaboration with 21 target countries and provide the European Commission (EC) with recommendations for future actions. For each country, ICARe examines lessons learned from past cooperation and technologies and areas of interest.
21 target countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Israel*, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Serbia*, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland*, Turkey*, Ukraine*, United Arab Emirates and the USA, (*: associated countries to Horizon 2020). The scope is expanded for five countries (Canada, China, Japan, Russia and US) through bilateral dialogues.
WP1 - Project Coordination
The main tasks carried out in WP1 were the coordination and communication with the Commission and within the consortium; organisation of project management and Advisory Board meetings; and monitoring of the project progress.
WP2 - Communication, Dissemination and Networking
The objective of WP2 was to raise public awareness on the project, its main activities and its goals, and to inform the European and International aviation community on the ICARe initiative. The project was continuously promoted through: a) participation to conferences/workshops/events, b) publishing of articles, c) presence and engagement on social media and d) organization of a public workshop during the ILA Berlin airshow (replaced by filmed interviews because of the covid-19 outbreak).
WP3 - Assessment of past international cooperation in aviation
The main objective of WP3 was to gather and analyse evidence to assess past and ongoing cooperation with the 21 selected Countries. We collected data on international projects in aviation (FP6, FP7, H2020). We conducted an online study to collect data and opinions of participants on the scrutinised projects. To support the qualitative analysis, we interviewed 51 people who participated in past international cooperation projects and conducted five case studies. Based on this data, we inferred lessons learnt and formulated recommendations for future cooperation.
WP4 - Technology Mapping in non EU Countries
The objective of WP4 was to screen the 21 countries considered in ICARe to identify their technologies and competencies. An online database was developed, and technologies and competences of each third country were screened. The output of WP4 is the identification of competences and technologies of the 21 Countries which could contribute reach the goals of Flightpath 2050 and the SRIA (i.e. “golden nuggets” - technologies listed in the SRIA and developed outside the EU that will help the EU to fulfill SRIA objectives).
WP5 - EU Open Platforms with 5 countries
The main objective of the WP5 was to establish open platforms to foster bilateral dialogues between aviation stakeholders from 5 Third Countries (China, Russia, Canada, US and Japan) and EU. The main actions undertaken in WP5 were to:
• Define a list of aviation R&I topics of common interest;
• Consolidate the identified topics through iterations with stakeholders in Europe and in each third country. Three workshops to discuss these win-win opportunities were organised with Russia, three workshops with China, two with the US and two with Canada. For Japan, the topics or interest were identified based on the output of the European project SUNJET 2 results and updated through review of open source documents;
• Assess for each identified topic the impacts (competitiveness, greening, digitalization, recycling), rough order of magnitude costs and level of priority.
The main output of WP5 is the identification of win-win opportunities, gaps and barriers and recommendations for improved cooperation between EU and each of the five countries.
WP6 - Proposed Collaborations and Final Recommendations: Country profile under examination.
The main objective of WP6 was to issue evidence-based recommendations for future international cooperation in the field of aviation. Based on inputs from WP3, WP4 and WP5, the main results of WP6 are:
• Collection of information on the 21 countries and synthesis in a SWOT (Strenghth, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis per country and a comparative Benefit & Risks table;
• More than 100 bilateral research projects of common interest are identified. They are clustered in 8 domains, ranked in a decreasing importance:
1. Environment & Energy,
2. Materials & Structure,
3. Safety and Security,
4. Engineering Methodologies &Technology Alignment,
5. Interoperability,
6. New configuration and optimization design,
7. Supersonic & High Speed,
8. Regulation & Certification;
• The total cost of these projects is around 500 M€ and could be reduced through multilateral approaches (to around 80 M€) but management costs would be higher.
• Non-technical recommendations were identified:
o A win-win strategy is the first step towards a successful cooperation.
o Equitable partnership, reciprocity, fair and equal treatment, as well as respect of Intellectual property rights are necessary conditions.
o The EC and the counterpart administrations should work closely to overcome potential difficulties in the grant awarding and the synchronization of funding.
o For a successful cooperation, Standardization, Certification and Export Control should be addressed.
o Based on lessons learned from successful past international cooperation, it is easier to work at low Technology readiness level (TRL); the optimum project duration is 2-3 years; consortium should be balanced (Industry, Academia, SMEs, Agencies).
o Interaction with other sectors (digital technologies, artificial intelligence, alternative fuels, energy storage) could be beneficial in the context of international cooperation.
o Multilateral research synergies can result in cost-efficient technological advancements.
The main tasks carried out in WP1 were the coordination and communication with the Commission and within the consortium; organisation of project management and Advisory Board meetings; and monitoring of the project progress.
WP2 - Communication, Dissemination and Networking
The objective of WP2 was to raise public awareness on the project, its main activities and its goals, and to inform the European and International aviation community on the ICARe initiative. The project was continuously promoted through: a) participation to conferences/workshops/events, b) publishing of articles, c) presence and engagement on social media and d) organization of a public workshop during the ILA Berlin airshow (replaced by filmed interviews because of the covid-19 outbreak).
WP3 - Assessment of past international cooperation in aviation
The main objective of WP3 was to gather and analyse evidence to assess past and ongoing cooperation with the 21 selected Countries. We collected data on international projects in aviation (FP6, FP7, H2020). We conducted an online study to collect data and opinions of participants on the scrutinised projects. To support the qualitative analysis, we interviewed 51 people who participated in past international cooperation projects and conducted five case studies. Based on this data, we inferred lessons learnt and formulated recommendations for future cooperation.
WP4 - Technology Mapping in non EU Countries
The objective of WP4 was to screen the 21 countries considered in ICARe to identify their technologies and competencies. An online database was developed, and technologies and competences of each third country were screened. The output of WP4 is the identification of competences and technologies of the 21 Countries which could contribute reach the goals of Flightpath 2050 and the SRIA (i.e. “golden nuggets” - technologies listed in the SRIA and developed outside the EU that will help the EU to fulfill SRIA objectives).
WP5 - EU Open Platforms with 5 countries
The main objective of the WP5 was to establish open platforms to foster bilateral dialogues between aviation stakeholders from 5 Third Countries (China, Russia, Canada, US and Japan) and EU. The main actions undertaken in WP5 were to:
• Define a list of aviation R&I topics of common interest;
• Consolidate the identified topics through iterations with stakeholders in Europe and in each third country. Three workshops to discuss these win-win opportunities were organised with Russia, three workshops with China, two with the US and two with Canada. For Japan, the topics or interest were identified based on the output of the European project SUNJET 2 results and updated through review of open source documents;
• Assess for each identified topic the impacts (competitiveness, greening, digitalization, recycling), rough order of magnitude costs and level of priority.
The main output of WP5 is the identification of win-win opportunities, gaps and barriers and recommendations for improved cooperation between EU and each of the five countries.
WP6 - Proposed Collaborations and Final Recommendations: Country profile under examination.
The main objective of WP6 was to issue evidence-based recommendations for future international cooperation in the field of aviation. Based on inputs from WP3, WP4 and WP5, the main results of WP6 are:
• Collection of information on the 21 countries and synthesis in a SWOT (Strenghth, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis per country and a comparative Benefit & Risks table;
• More than 100 bilateral research projects of common interest are identified. They are clustered in 8 domains, ranked in a decreasing importance:
1. Environment & Energy,
2. Materials & Structure,
3. Safety and Security,
4. Engineering Methodologies &Technology Alignment,
5. Interoperability,
6. New configuration and optimization design,
7. Supersonic & High Speed,
8. Regulation & Certification;
• The total cost of these projects is around 500 M€ and could be reduced through multilateral approaches (to around 80 M€) but management costs would be higher.
• Non-technical recommendations were identified:
o A win-win strategy is the first step towards a successful cooperation.
o Equitable partnership, reciprocity, fair and equal treatment, as well as respect of Intellectual property rights are necessary conditions.
o The EC and the counterpart administrations should work closely to overcome potential difficulties in the grant awarding and the synchronization of funding.
o For a successful cooperation, Standardization, Certification and Export Control should be addressed.
o Based on lessons learned from successful past international cooperation, it is easier to work at low Technology readiness level (TRL); the optimum project duration is 2-3 years; consortium should be balanced (Industry, Academia, SMEs, Agencies).
o Interaction with other sectors (digital technologies, artificial intelligence, alternative fuels, energy storage) could be beneficial in the context of international cooperation.
o Multilateral research synergies can result in cost-efficient technological advancements.
ICARe aims at extending and deepening international cooperation in the domain of R&I for aviation through the design of a holistic international cooperation strategy. ICARe has three main impacts:
a) Strengthen Europe’s smart specialisation in key strategic areas of aviation research,
b) Improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Europe’s aviation industry,
c) Contribute to spread Europe’s views through bilateral dialogue with third countries.
Furthermore, ICARe contributed to :
• The creation of networks of stakeholders on R&I in aviation with US, Canada, China and Russia;
• A better understanding of the organisation of the R&I for aviation in 21 countries considered in the study;
• Recommendation for collaboration on technologies developed outside the aviation domain and which are of interest for this sector;
• Development of a methodology to be used to update ICARe results.
a) Strengthen Europe’s smart specialisation in key strategic areas of aviation research,
b) Improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Europe’s aviation industry,
c) Contribute to spread Europe’s views through bilateral dialogue with third countries.
Furthermore, ICARe contributed to :
• The creation of networks of stakeholders on R&I in aviation with US, Canada, China and Russia;
• A better understanding of the organisation of the R&I for aviation in 21 countries considered in the study;
• Recommendation for collaboration on technologies developed outside the aviation domain and which are of interest for this sector;
• Development of a methodology to be used to update ICARe results.