How can sustainability take flight in aerospace and defense?

In the future, there is potential for avoiding tailpipe emissions for very short-haul travel through Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) — such as drones and ridesharing taxis — which would reduce urban congestion and improve accessibility while eliminating seven million tons of CO₂ globally, assuming they are powered entirely by renewable energy. Today, drones are being used to inspect construction projects and damaged roofs and even to offer greater visibility in search-and-rescue missions, but the potential for broader sustainability implications are vast across industries.

1. Energy and utilities: Drones are playing a role in supporting oil, gas and power enterprises’ management of their operations during the energy transition. Currently used to inspect rigs, power lines, solar panels and wind turbines, they could also have a future role in complex data gathering and reporting, providing visual and data monitoring. For example, a US-based robotics startup manufactures drones for the energy industry, featuring cameras and sensors for thermal high-resolution imagery and hotspot identification. These drones operate in high-voltage environments and collect data on hard-to-reach components for energy infrastructure inspection.
2. Agriculture and agribusiness: With drones, farmers can now get an instant view of crop problems and focus on the remedy. This ability becomes potentially crucial as we experience more effects from climate change. Large agricultural businesses can also monitor their assets from above so that equipment shutdowns for repairs can be reduced to a minimum. A Swiss-based drone developer provides autonomous drone solutions for crop protection, with a platform to plan and execute treatments quickly and efficiently. Less pesticide and fertilizer can be wasted, and more water can be saved through advanced spraying technology.
3. Logistics: ​In the US, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation account for about 27% of the nation’s total, making it the largest contributor. Sustainable and quick last-mile delivery via drones would reduce the pollution from the growing logistics industry. The healthcare industry is using drones to deliver medications and supplies, samples from patient to processing units, and more. Within distribution centers, drones automate pallet scanning, inventory tracking and material handling for greater efficiencies. An US-based startup uses a fleet of drones with cameras to map a warehouse environment. The drones autonomously scan the environment, collect stock data, measure temperatures and read barcodes.

AAM opens doors for mobility-as-a-service as well as fourth-party logistics and logistics-as-a-service. The newer revenue models help target a wide set of customers and reduce fixed costs by converting them to variable costs, hence facilitating higher flexibility.

Market size and potential: By 2030, an EY analysis shows AAM could total a market opportunity of US$33.5 billion, up from US$5.3 billion in 2022, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 33%. Electric aircraft manufacturers estimate that the global mature market for AAM could eventually exceed US$1 trillion.

Market size and potential: By 2030, the market for satellite imaging could reach US$10.5 billion (from US$3.7 billion in 2022), an EY analysis shows, with a CAGR of 14.6%. The geospatial analytics market is more robust as of now, estimated at almost US$67 billion in 2022, but is poised to reach US$170.8 billion by 2030, reflecting a CAGR of 12.5%.

Over the course of a year, every pound on a plane — from passengers and luggage to airplane parts — equates to about US$10,000 in fuel costs. Advanced composite materials such as carbon- and glass-fiber-reinforced plastic are crucial both for reducing weight but also resisting intense heat, corrosion and fatigue, thanks to their increased stiffness and high strength-to-weight ratio. Their use in aerospace has doubled every five years since 1987.

Now the construction, transportation and utilities industries, for example, are reaping the rewards of these innovations, putting them into wind turbines, luxury automobiles, windows, door systems, fences and more, and using them to repair and strengthen reinforced concrete structures. A&D suppliers stand to gain by exploring and producing innovative variants to meet requirements for different aircraft parts and other use cases, thus in turn creating newer revenue streams.

Additionally, the circular economy is also contributing to the rise of as-a-service business models. For instance, carbon-fiber reinforced composites in particular can be recycled after being used in aircraft, finding their way into car bodies and laptop cases. Rolls Royce’s Revert Program, now operating at over 100 of its locations, works as a recycling program so that valuable material from waste is returned to aerospace-grade by effectively removing coatings and contaminants and segregating alloys — saving 20,000 megawatt-hours of energy and 9,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

Market size and potential: An EY analysis foresees a composite market CAGR of 11.8%, which accounts for the aerospace market and elsewhere, rising to US$57.8 billion in 2030 from US$23.4 billion in 2022.