INDIGO aims at predicting the improvement in airport local air quality and noise resulting from the introduction of a new, non-conventional, mid-range aircraft featuring distributed hybrid electric propeller based propulsion and large aspect-ratio wings capable to fly quietly and in zero-to-low-emission mode (i.e., electric and/or sustainable aviation fuel) at low altitudes near airports and resort to conventional aviation fuel only when required, e.g. at higher altitudes or to recharge batteries during cruise. INDIGO will explore a new paradigm of a silent and clean mid-range aircraft and the way in which such an aircraft will allow transforming the operations “at and near” airports. It will introduce improved methods for the analysis of future aviation environmental impact that, under the filter of uncertainty on technologies’ development, will account for non-conventional aircraft performance and future airport scenarios.
The project, funded by the European Union under the Horizon project, started in 2023. The consortium consists of the University of Strathclyde, Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali, University Carlos III Madrid, Ruhr University Bochum, University of Bristol, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, German Aerospace Centre, Centro de Referencia de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación ATM, RIGA International Airport and Technische Universität Braunschweig.
