ACARE Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe
ACARE opinion on the proposal for the Joint Technology Initiative CLEAN SKY
Date: 13/05/06
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY --------------------------------------------------------The European Commission has proposed to introduce a new instrument in the 7th Framework Program, the Joint Technology Initiative (JTI). Through the introduction of this instrument the Commission aims to increase private investment in European research and to accelerate the development of advanced technologies and their transfer into European products, thereby strengthening the position of the European industries in the world market place. The European Commission have indicated that the proposed JTI’s should be industry led and based upon Public Private Partnership of common European interest. They are to be of very large scale, addressing areas where financial stimulation from the community would avert potential market failure. Within the Transport Thematic programme of the Co-operation specific program of th the 7 framework, major European aeronautical industries have joined forces to elaborate a proposal for a JTI aimed at significantly reducing the environmental impact of air transport. The CLEAN SKY proposal addresses major improvements that, through the combined and focused efforts of the European aeronautical research and manufacturing industry, result in their accelerated introduction in the air transport system. ACARE is of the opinion that the CLEAN SKY initiative constitutes real added value for Europe and provides a good basis for making very significant progress towards the achievement of the ACARE vision and objectives especially those related to the greening of Air Transport. ACARE would like to take this opportunity to express its appreciation of the quality and content of the current proposal. ACARE concludes that the CLEAN SKY proposal addresses the technological elements identified in the ACARE Strategic Research Agenda. By integrating the relevant technologies up to Technology Readiness Level 6 and beyond in a coordinated way, a quantum leap contribution to the achievement of the Air Transport Vision 2020 can be achieved, responding to society’s needs and securing industrial leadership.
The implementation of the CLEAN SKY JTI makes technological progress possible beyond the effects of the traditional RTD instruments. The selected ambitious technical approach enables the European industry to respond to market demands in the most cost effective way. The proposal eliminates the danger of market failure related to the greening of Air Transport and the CLEAN SKY initiatives will assure the timely availability of new technologies into the market. The assessment by ACARE has identified a number of issues that require further clarification and additional information. Essentially, it is necessary to identify the mission, goals and benefits of the CLEAN SKY elements, their contribution to achieving the ACARE environmental objectives and the consequences of the introduction of green technologies upon the other objectives of the Vision 2020 for air transport, in a clearer way. ACARE has been notified by the industry, that the CLEAN SKY team is already working on clarifying the targets to be reached and the budget allocation within the project as well as improving the project description itself, especially with respect to the way in which the project elements complement each other, with respect to other European initiatives and with respect to activities performed in national programs. ACARE has also identified that the governance structure of CLEAN SKY requires clarification, addressing issues relating to transparency in partner selection, conflicts of interest and monitoring of the program by ACARE. ACARE has been t ld that o these issues are currently being addressed by the CLEAN SKY team and that a new version of the proposal is being prepared. In conclusion, ACARE recommends to proceed with the preparation of the proposal, taking into consideration the identified issues and recommendations with an aim to initiate the program in early 2007.