SUStainable life cycle Thinking in the Aerospace Industry (SUSTAIN)

Research Project, 2024 – 2028

The sustainability challenges facing the aerospace industry will require a significant shift in products and technologies. Realizing such challenges requires equally a shift in thinking and acting, and in the way how to ensure confidence and robustness in new approaches. This needs to be included in the design and development of systems, routines, and methods, something that is challenged by the systemic and holistic nature of sustainability. Additionally, it becomes clearer that developing sustainable solutions is a strategic advantage necessary for the aerospace industry to thrive. Sustainability is an opportunity for the Swedish Aerospace industry to enhance its competitiveness and long-term success and support are needed to achieve a sustainability transition.

This project contributes to the focus areas “Holistic ability and Systems Engineering including system evaluation” and “Integrated structure, materials and production technology”. The SUSTAIN project’s purpose is to support the research at Chalmers, and the development of Swedish Aerospace companies, namely GKN Aerospace Sweden AB and SAAB AB, in the area of sustainable product development, using company cases with the overall aims to:

 integrate sustainability in novel technology development to identify and address sustainability challenges before these technologies are established.

 create decision support to promote, measure, and visualize the lifecycle sustainability- and value performance to stakeholders, to support the aerospace industry to incorporate new business models in line with a circular economy

 increase the capability to enhance the sustainability performance as the technology matures and empower development teams to anticipate, evaluate and enhance the sustainability performance of their solutions.

On an overall level, the project will result in a systematic approach to sustainability in aerospace product and technology development. This will foster the creation of sustainability collaboration between Swedish aerospace companies and support competence building. In the long run, it will also contribute to strengthening the long-term competitiveness of the Swedish aerospace industry, by positioning the Swedish industry at the forefront of sustainable aerospace internationally. This also means that an outcome will be to support the adoption of a strategic position ahead of legislation.