M.L. Moleman
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Towards Electric Aviation
How do Stakeholders Perceive the Barriers and Align with Each Other on the Electrification for Regional Passenger Flights?
The worldwide aviation industry faces pressure to decarbonize to meet the Net Zero Emission Target, with battery-electric aircraft emerging as one of the feasible alternatives for short-haul, regional commercial flights. However, the transition process is currently stuck in the early innovation phase with no commercially available products on the market. This research utilizes the Functions of Innovation Systems (FIS) to analyze and evaluate the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of electric aviation across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, known as the region of Benelux. Using qualitative analysis approach with desk research and semi-structured interviews method with key industry actors, this study assesses the seven core functions of the framework to identify sociotechnical and economic barriers and using the result to map a comprehensive stakeholder alignment.
The findings reveal that in the Benelux itself, the presence of stakeholders are relatively complete, with all the critical core actors and institutions are already present in the region. However, these stakeholders and initiatives are heavily concentrated around Netherlands. Furthermore, the analysis identifies Guidance of the Search (F4) and Resource Mobilization (F6) as the weakest functions that serves as the bottleneck that needs to be addressed. The main barriers that cause these weaknesses are the lack of financial fundings, severe grid congestion, particularly in Netherlands, and rigid European regulatory frameworks, most importantly related to the aircraft certification pathways from EASA and the EU-mandated anti-discriminatory airport slot regulations that disincentivizes major airports to invest in sustainable aviation options, including electric aircraft. Finally, the findings also show that while stakeholders demonstrate strong macro-level alignment through their participation on active collaborative consortiums (e.g., Electric Flying Connection and Power Up Initiatives), there is a noticeable micro-level fragmentation between different stakeholders in the same cluster. Startups, new entrants, and small airports drive many of the entrepreneurial activities. Although established aviation incumbents also formally participate in the initiatives, they exhibit a more conservative and risk-averse approach compared to the new entrants. This further hinders the transition process because the established incumbents hold significantly more resources to spend and invest while also having more power to influence other stakeholders due to their massive size and presence in the Benelux region.
This study also proposes several strategic level recommendations to address the main barriers and accelerate the transition towards electric aviation for commercial flights. These include the implementation of government-led risk-sharing guarantees, unifying industry lobbying effort to pressurize EU on policy reformations and exploring alternative business models such as decentralized or independent airport energy grids and modular battery systems. Ultimately, this thesis provides insights for policymakers and industry leaders to accelerate the implementation of electric regional flights in the Benelux region. ...
The findings reveal that in the Benelux itself, the presence of stakeholders are relatively complete, with all the critical core actors and institutions are already present in the region. However, these stakeholders and initiatives are heavily concentrated around Netherlands. Furthermore, the analysis identifies Guidance of the Search (F4) and Resource Mobilization (F6) as the weakest functions that serves as the bottleneck that needs to be addressed. The main barriers that cause these weaknesses are the lack of financial fundings, severe grid congestion, particularly in Netherlands, and rigid European regulatory frameworks, most importantly related to the aircraft certification pathways from EASA and the EU-mandated anti-discriminatory airport slot regulations that disincentivizes major airports to invest in sustainable aviation options, including electric aircraft. Finally, the findings also show that while stakeholders demonstrate strong macro-level alignment through their participation on active collaborative consortiums (e.g., Electric Flying Connection and Power Up Initiatives), there is a noticeable micro-level fragmentation between different stakeholders in the same cluster. Startups, new entrants, and small airports drive many of the entrepreneurial activities. Although established aviation incumbents also formally participate in the initiatives, they exhibit a more conservative and risk-averse approach compared to the new entrants. This further hinders the transition process because the established incumbents hold significantly more resources to spend and invest while also having more power to influence other stakeholders due to their massive size and presence in the Benelux region.
This study also proposes several strategic level recommendations to address the main barriers and accelerate the transition towards electric aviation for commercial flights. These include the implementation of government-led risk-sharing guarantees, unifying industry lobbying effort to pressurize EU on policy reformations and exploring alternative business models such as decentralized or independent airport energy grids and modular battery systems. Ultimately, this thesis provides insights for policymakers and industry leaders to accelerate the implementation of electric regional flights in the Benelux region. ...
The worldwide aviation industry faces pressure to decarbonize to meet the Net Zero Emission Target, with battery-electric aircraft emerging as one of the feasible alternatives for short-haul, regional commercial flights. However, the transition process is currently stuck in the early innovation phase with no commercially available products on the market. This research utilizes the Functions of Innovation Systems (FIS) to analyze and evaluate the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of electric aviation across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, known as the region of Benelux. Using qualitative analysis approach with desk research and semi-structured interviews method with key industry actors, this study assesses the seven core functions of the framework to identify sociotechnical and economic barriers and using the result to map a comprehensive stakeholder alignment.
The findings reveal that in the Benelux itself, the presence of stakeholders are relatively complete, with all the critical core actors and institutions are already present in the region. However, these stakeholders and initiatives are heavily concentrated around Netherlands. Furthermore, the analysis identifies Guidance of the Search (F4) and Resource Mobilization (F6) as the weakest functions that serves as the bottleneck that needs to be addressed. The main barriers that cause these weaknesses are the lack of financial fundings, severe grid congestion, particularly in Netherlands, and rigid European regulatory frameworks, most importantly related to the aircraft certification pathways from EASA and the EU-mandated anti-discriminatory airport slot regulations that disincentivizes major airports to invest in sustainable aviation options, including electric aircraft. Finally, the findings also show that while stakeholders demonstrate strong macro-level alignment through their participation on active collaborative consortiums (e.g., Electric Flying Connection and Power Up Initiatives), there is a noticeable micro-level fragmentation between different stakeholders in the same cluster. Startups, new entrants, and small airports drive many of the entrepreneurial activities. Although established aviation incumbents also formally participate in the initiatives, they exhibit a more conservative and risk-averse approach compared to the new entrants. This further hinders the transition process because the established incumbents hold significantly more resources to spend and invest while also having more power to influence other stakeholders due to their massive size and presence in the Benelux region.
This study also proposes several strategic level recommendations to address the main barriers and accelerate the transition towards electric aviation for commercial flights. These include the implementation of government-led risk-sharing guarantees, unifying industry lobbying effort to pressurize EU on policy reformations and exploring alternative business models such as decentralized or independent airport energy grids and modular battery systems. Ultimately, this thesis provides insights for policymakers and industry leaders to accelerate the implementation of electric regional flights in the Benelux region.
The findings reveal that in the Benelux itself, the presence of stakeholders are relatively complete, with all the critical core actors and institutions are already present in the region. However, these stakeholders and initiatives are heavily concentrated around Netherlands. Furthermore, the analysis identifies Guidance of the Search (F4) and Resource Mobilization (F6) as the weakest functions that serves as the bottleneck that needs to be addressed. The main barriers that cause these weaknesses are the lack of financial fundings, severe grid congestion, particularly in Netherlands, and rigid European regulatory frameworks, most importantly related to the aircraft certification pathways from EASA and the EU-mandated anti-discriminatory airport slot regulations that disincentivizes major airports to invest in sustainable aviation options, including electric aircraft. Finally, the findings also show that while stakeholders demonstrate strong macro-level alignment through their participation on active collaborative consortiums (e.g., Electric Flying Connection and Power Up Initiatives), there is a noticeable micro-level fragmentation between different stakeholders in the same cluster. Startups, new entrants, and small airports drive many of the entrepreneurial activities. Although established aviation incumbents also formally participate in the initiatives, they exhibit a more conservative and risk-averse approach compared to the new entrants. This further hinders the transition process because the established incumbents hold significantly more resources to spend and invest while also having more power to influence other stakeholders due to their massive size and presence in the Benelux region.
This study also proposes several strategic level recommendations to address the main barriers and accelerate the transition towards electric aviation for commercial flights. These include the implementation of government-led risk-sharing guarantees, unifying industry lobbying effort to pressurize EU on policy reformations and exploring alternative business models such as decentralized or independent airport energy grids and modular battery systems. Ultimately, this thesis provides insights for policymakers and industry leaders to accelerate the implementation of electric regional flights in the Benelux region.