Context and Objectives

Aviation’s environmental impact is a critical challenge, with long-range aircraft contributing nearly half of all air transport emissions in 2019. More radical changes in aircraft configurations, engine concepts and fuels are expected to reduce carbon emissions during long-range flights by a factor more than two compared to the reductions that are currently expected in Europe with innovative tube-and-wing aircraft concepts powered by kerosene or drop-in sustainable hydrocarbons. 

However, there is a significant uncertainty regarding the feasibility of these radical aircraft configurations and technologies, their resulting emissions, and their competitiveness, all against the aim of EIS in the period 2045-2050. Hence it is required to obtain a deeper understanding of these radical aircraft configurations and technologies. Large-scale flight testing is needed to de-risk radical aircraft configuration and technologies that go beyond the range of validity of digital methods, wind tunnels and ground demonstrators. Flying TestBeds (FTBs) are needed.  These FTBs, early in the development of disruptive aircraft configurations, are essentially different from full-scale aircraft that are flight-tested near the end of the traditional development cycle.  

The EU-funded EXAELIA project is pioneering advanced FTBs up to pre-design to accelerate the adoption of disruptive aircraft designs. The project focuses specifically on both hydrogen-powered and blended wing body long-range aircraft, powered by advanced propulsion concepts, and enabled by aircraft and propulsion technologies. Whereas many “single-use” flight test demonstrators have been developed or under development in Europe, EXAELIA is defining and pre-designing modular FTBs as technology infrastructure assets that can be used and re-used time- and cost-efficiently, paving the way towards greener skies.

Recent Developments

EXAELIA is developing three disruptive future long range aircraft (FLRA) concepts: (a) a blended wing-body (BWB) aircraft powered by sustainable aviation fuel, (b) a BWB aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2), and (c) a tube-and-wing aircraft powered by LH2. The first phase of conceptual design has been completed for all three configurations, using common requirements and advanced multidisciplinary design methods. The work has identified the main technical challenges and critical areas that need to be taken into consideration before such aircraft can become feasible.

A major project focus is the development of Flying Testbed (FTB) families that will enable these technologies and aircraft configurations to be tested in flight. Three FTB families have been defined, focusing respectively on BWB configurations, LH2-powered tube-and-wing aircraft, and advanced propulsion integration. In parallel, two FTB demonstrators are developed to de-risk the development of the FTB families and for demonstrating advanced experimental and measurement technologies. EXAELIA has also developed an initial framework and roadmaps for the development of the future aircraft concepts, including their flight-testing needs and the potential use of FTBs, with the objective of reaching industrialization readiness before 2045.

In addition, the EXAELIA Academy has been launched, providing MSc students with the opportunity to engage with project experts through dedicated webinar and mentoring activities.

Looking Ahead

The project will further develop the aircraft and Flying Testbed concepts, refine the identified technologies and flight-testing needs, and advance the associated roadmaps. The results will provide guidance for the future development and de-risking of disruptive long-range aircraft concepts and their enabling technologies. 

Furthermore, EXAELIA will be represented at the EASN2026 Conference through the following activities:

• A keynote speech by Martin Nagelsmit (NLR), entitled “EXAELIA: pioneering European flying testbeds to drastically cut long-range flights’ climate impact by 2050”.
• Two special sessions on Day 1 (27th of October 2026), comprising 13 presentations and 4 additional presentations on EXAELIA results, moderated by Johan Kos (NLR).
  • Session 1 (Morning): Experimental Aircraft for European Leadership in Aviation – Part I
  • Session 2 (Noon): Experimental Aircraft for European Leadership in Aviation – Part II

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.