On March 24 to 25, 2025, Airbus held its annual Summit, in which the company shared insights into some of the most innovative projects on which it is working, plus, more broadly, its view of the future of commercial aviation.
One of the highlights of the 2025 edition of the Airbus Summit was the announcement by the European aircraft manufacturer that it is already working on some concepts for a new generation of narrow-body airliner.
If greenlit (a decision may be taken nearer 2030), this future aircraft could enter service in the second half of the 2030s. Although it would present significant fuel efficiency improvements of 20-30% compared to the current ‘neo’ airliners, its design would essentially be an iteration of existing architectures. It will also be capable of running on 100% SAF.
Airbus is pondering several concepts for this future aircraft, including some showing open fan designs and long and thin wings with foldable wingtips, a design favored because of its aerodynamic properties.
These designs would also be able to accommodate an increasing degree of electrification, starting with some auxiliary non-propulsive functions, eventually moving into hybrid concepts. Airbus also plans to use new lightweight materials and fit it with more integrated systems in order to continue moving forward with its vision of a fully connected and digitized aircraft.
The European manufacturer presented also its updated view of its ZEROe hydrogen propulsion development program, the time horizon of which was pushed back a few years in early 2025.
In this regard, the Head of Future Programs at Airbus, Bruno Fichefeux, reiterated that the company would continue investing in the development of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
However, Airbus appears to have been refining its concept for a future hydrogen-powered aircraft. The aircraft maker showed a hypothetical future aircraft powered by four 2 MW electric engines with fuel cells that would be fed liquid hydrogen.
Airbus representatives highlighted that this design is far from being a tangible reality and will still be subject to numerous changes over the years to come.
However, Airbus noted that, in the five years since it unveiled its ZEROe program, it had made significant progress when it comes to developing hydrogen propulsion technologies. It also reiterated its commitment to continue investing in this field, particularly when it comes to the handling of liquid hydrogen and the integration of the fuel cell stack.
The 2025 Airbus Summit also saw the launch of several other sustainability initiatives, such as the signature of a partnership between the European aircraft maker and the Switzerland-based Solar Impulse Foundation to support innovative sustainability projects in aerospace.
The Solar Impulse Foundation is led by aerospace adventurer and entrepreneur Bertrand Piccard, who is also working on a project to circumnavigate the globe on a hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Additionally, Airbus has announced projects in the field of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to facilitate the use of book-and-claim systems by its customers which will allow them to fund the development of SAF supply around the world, even when not physically available in their respective countries or regions.
Another initiative that will see Airbus’ involvement is PACIFIC project (Particle emissions, Air Quality and Climate Impact related to Fuel Composition and Engine Cycle) to conduct research into the effect of aircraft contrails in climate change and the non-CO2 impacts of aviation. Airbus will join forces with 11 other organizations in this endeavor, including Rolls-Royce, Finnish energy firm Neste and several aerospace research institutes from across Europe.