German national aeronautics R&D fund issues new programm

Germany's national aeronautics research programme, Luftfahrtforschungsprogramm or "LuFo" for short, has announced a new iteration of its funding programme. The central objective of the seventh national civil aviation research programme, LuFo Climate VII, is to significantly reduce the climate impact of aviation through aviation-induced greenhouse gases and non-CO2 effects. The renaming of the programme to LuFo Climate reflects the focus of the programme on minimising the climate impact of aviation. Although disruptive H2 technologies are an important funding priority, further development of legacy technology is retained as an "enabler" for climate protection. Outlines can be submitted until 26 June 2024. The first projects are scheduled to start in April 2025. For companies, funding rates of 65 per cent for SMEs and 50 per cent for industrial companies are planned.

LufFo Climate VII: Areas covered

Funding will be provided for research and technology development projects in the overall aircraft system. Projects are selected based on an assessment of their CO2 savings potential.
Projects can be submitted in three areas:

• Alternative climate-neutral propulsion technologies (open to all energy sources),
• Reduction of energy requirements and
• increasing competitiveness, resource efficiency, reducing the ecological footprint and improving social acceptance.

When submitting outlines, projects must be assigned to both a programme line and a specialist discipline:

Specialised disciplines

    Cabins and systems
    Conventional aircraft propulsion systems
    Structures and construction methods
    Flight physics and flight guidance
    Digitalisation

Programme lines

    Disruptive technologies Climate-neutral air transport
    Industrial research
    Industrial research SMEs
    Experimental development

Focus on SMEs

Another focus of LuFo Climate VII is on internationalisation and the integration of start-ups and SMEs into the value chains. A funding rate of 65% is offered for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.

Further information

Detailed information on Lufo Climate VII and the application procedure can be found here (German).