Workvisit on electric aircraft brings Dutch Parliament to Delft

This event was jointly facilitated by the executive management of the two universities in Delft and started at Inholland Composites, one of the Applied Sciences labs at Inholland. Henri Werij (Dean of Aerospace Engineering – TU Delft) kicked off with a masterclass on sustainable aviation and the need for global collaboration to achieve the emission-free aviation goals set for 2070. The Flying V case was presented to illustrate what emission reductions can already be achieved by applying existing technology, but with a total different design philosophy. Werij stressed that electric aircraft developments are extremely important, but highlighted that alternatives for long distance flights still require a lot of research. Hydrogen fuel cells for instance is an option, but is not mature enough yet.

Antoine Gerritse (head of Aeronautical & Precision Engineering – Inholland Delft) provided an update on the recent decarbonization initiatives at Inholland and the need to drive for curriculum changes. Gerritse took the opportunity to inform Paternotte about the research projects recently executed by Inhollands Aeronautical Engineering students regarding electric mobility for the aviation. Arnold Koetje (Manager Applied Sciences Labs Aeronautical- and Precision Engineering – Inholland Delft) invited everyone for a tour at the Inholland lab facilities and project Dragonfly, the most recent and important applied research project involving electrification of an aircraft. The meeting was concluded with a visit at Aerospace faculty of the TU Delft where Werij showed the Dutch vision of achieving emission-free flight by 2070, jointly developed with the Royal NLR. The meeting ended at the build of the Flying V scale model.