Clean Sky

Clean Sky Joint Undertaking

The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking logo
Motto	Innovation Takes Off
Founder(s)	European Commission, European aeronautics industry
Established	2008
Budget	€1.6bn (Clean Sky), €4bn (Clean Sky 2)
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Address	Avenue de la Toison d’Or 56-60
Website	www.cleansky.eu

Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (CSJU) is a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European aeronautics industry that coordinates and funds research activities to deliver significantly quieter and more environmentally friendly aircraft. The CSJU manages the Clean Sky Programme (CS) and the Clean Sky 2 Programme (CS2), making it Europe’s foremost aeronautical research body.

Aeronautics is noted for its capacity to innovate and to change the lives of millions of people. Also, for the complexity of its hardware and systems, which means the research and development cycles in the industry (the time it takes for an idea to get from the drawing board to the market) are very long, typically between 20 and 30 years. The risk associated with the large-scale investment required to drive technological progress is very high. In parallel, the environmental impact of the industry currently accounts for 3% of global man-made carbon emissions and is set to increase substantially in the years to come, as modern societies demand better connection among people, countries and regions. By coordinating the research activities of the industry, the CSJU develops new technologies that would otherwise be beyond the manageable risk of the private sector: it provides the necessary funding to develop and introduce innovations within timeframes that would otherwise be unachievable.

As such, the CSJU is intended to be the body that will be the main contributor in realising the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) 2020 environmental goals for the industry. These goals are:

The CSJU Governing Board, made up of representatives from the industry and the Commission, identifies strategic areas where research and innovation are essential. ‘Calls for Proposals' are then launched depending on the evolving needs of the industry. Small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), industrial leaders, universities, and professional research organisations respond to the calls with detailed plans for research activities and an outline of the funding that they will require to develop their new technologies. To guarantee an efficient allocation of resources, the applications are evaluated by a panel of independent external experts who advise the CSJU on the proposals with the best potential. The winning proposals then receive funding and other support from the CSJU. The initial Clean Sky Programme, which runs from 2008-2016, has a budget of €1.6 billion. Half of this was provided by the European Commission’s Framework Package 7 Research and Innovation Programme and the other half was provided by financial and in-kind contributions from the industry leaders.