Bombardier’s Blended Wing EcoJet Research Project Seeks to Deliver Insights Needed to Reduce Aircraft Carbon Emissions by 50%.

(Montréal, Canada) Situated in a remote, secret location in North America, Bombardier’s (TSE: BBD.B) 18-foot-span autonomous test aircraft – the base of its EcoJet Research Project – seeks to deliver the insights needed to achieve Bombardier’s goal of reducing aircraft carbon emissions by up to 50%.

A runway view of Bombardier’s EcoJet courtesy of Guillaume Plisson for Bombardier.

Per Bombardier, the streamlined blended wing-body airframe of its EcoJet essentially provides a test platform from which original, environmentally-friendly technologies are evolving.

Business aviation accounts for approximately 0.04% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually, according to Bombardier, and the industry has collectively committed to a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The first flight of Bombardier’s 8-foot-wide EcoJet prototype in 2017 enabled data collection that was leveraged to support the inaugural flight of a second 18-foot-wide prototype in 2023 – the results of this flight demonstrated that it is possible to reduce emissions by up to 20% compared with current aircraft designs, according Bombardier.

"In our journey to create more sustainable aircraft, we are looking at innovation holistically,” said Stephen McCullough, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Development at Bombardier. “And the beauty of our EcoJet project resides in its potential to deliver new technology for the short-, mid- and long-terms. Aerodynamics simulation, structural optimization, alternative propulsion architecture are some examples of fields we are exploring with our partners, much of which could eventually benefit our in-service fleet. We see a sustainability mindset as inseparable from business growth."

The more organic shape of the EcoJet’s blended-wing-body (BWB) design offers substantial advantages over traditional aircraft, including enhanced fuel efficiency and emissions reduction, according to Bombardier.

Photo of the body of Bombardier’s EcoJet courtesy of Bombardier.

As for the EcoJet’s wing technology, per Bombardier, the wing and aerodynamic designs explored within the Bombardier EcoJet research project “follow an evolutionary path of innovation introducing added complexity in aircraft control.” This phenomenon necessitates new control laws to ensure optimal performance of the EcoJet, comparable to that of conventional wings like those on the Bombardier Global aircraft. 

Bombardier’s research team is also currently studying the benefits of hybrid propulsion systems, and modeling capabilities to explore the potential for optimized energy demand and accelerated introduction of new technologies.

Partnerships are key to the EcoJet’s mission – specifically, Bombardier’s partnership with Quaternion Aerospace is core to the EcoJet flight test program, as Quaternion’s ability to create scaled test vehicles complements Bombardier’s experience ion business aircraft manufacturing.

Another runway view of Bombardier’s EcoJet courtesy of Guillaume Plisson for Bombardier.

Additionally, Bombardier’s research and technology team works in partnership with the University of Victoria Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR) to support research aiming to create the next generation of transonic wings for increased energy efficiency, per Bombardier.