EXACT is a DLR internal project which means that only DLR institutes are directly involved in the research. However, there is a strong interaction beyond DLR and its many partners from industry and academia in general and the DLR explicitly fosters and wants the public dialogue on EXACT, for instance with the annual public day and all other publication initiatives Additionally, the EXACT activities are supported by an external advisory board.
FAQ
To answer the central questions of EXACT in its required width and depth, the expertise of multiple disciplines within the aviation and the energy sectors is needed, which is why currently experts from 20 disciplines (in this case 20 DLR institutes) are involved in the project. These questions at hand are which aircraft concepts, technologies and scenarios radically reduce aviation’s climate impact while staying affordable for the broader public.
The overall economic and ecological assessment of the air transport system and the energy sector with many thinkable scenarios. The DLR designs and architects valuable and very detailed (level) aircraft concepts that overall correspond to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4. The TRL of their sub-systems will reach from TRL 2 up until TRL 8!
The German Aerospace Center has the mission to catalyse the transformation towards climate-compatible aviation. Solutions for future aviation must not only be climate-compatible but also economical, in order to be sustainable and globally affordable. The DLR is likely the only research centre worldwide that is in the unique position to have all necessary expertise in-house to tackle this comprehensively and in the necessary depth, too
As a generally interested person, you can inform yourself independently and objectively about the potentials and opportunities of sustainable aviation.
As a scientist or engineer, the studies of EXACT can help you to categorise your own work and technologies within the larger overall system.
For decision-makers, the results from EXACT can provide a technology-neutral and impartial basis for future work and decisions.
You will be able to learn about our research in our scientific publications during expert conferences and in specialist journals. All our deliverables and publications will be published on our website here and here. In addition, we are hosting the “Public Days” , an annual Hamburg-based event specifically for this occasion. Press releases, Communication on the institute’s LinkedIn channels etc. complement this.
Synthetic kerosene, green liquid hydrogen and the battery have proved to be the most promising economic and ecologic options, after months of research, comparison and detailed simulations. These energy carriers will be considered in more detail within the second EXACT project (2024-2027).
An interesting finding from EXACT is, that the battery is one of the most promising energy carrier options within the regional and short-range sectors. If combined with a gas-turbine range extender, it allows for sufficient range flexibility to be also applied for around 200 passenger short range classes.
Long-haul aircraft concepts are designed and assessed in EXACT2 and will be published soon.
The EXACT aircraft concepts are considered to enter the market between 2040 and up to 2050. Since DLR is a research organisation, it has not the capabilities to commercially produce these configurations. Rather, EXACT presents a wide-ranging assessment of a variety of concepts and scenarios that could, for example, provide assistance to industry.
A technology readiness level (TRL) of 4 is achieved for most components and disciplines.
Due to the long time horizon of up to 2070 , the new technologies and the wide range of the overall system, the economic and ecological final results include several uncertainties . The goal in EXACT2 is to quantify these to enable sophisticated decision making processes.
The vastness and deepness of such a comprehensive study is one of the biggest challenges we are exposing ourselves to. Handling the parallel and joint research in and across the multiple disciplines with their various fidelity levels in a consistent way to receive valid and usable results require experienced system architects, the use of the common language CPACS and strong automated processes and workflows.