Author name: Kirsten Propitius

Sustainability and Environment

03 May 2024

First flight with electric scale model

On the 2nd of May 2024, a scaled version of a large passenger aircraft with distributed electric propulsion undertook its maiden flight. Further testing will follow to qualify and measure its dynamic flying behaviour, aimed at understanding the advantages of this Distributed Electric Propulsion technology for large passenger aircraft. A reduction of 20% energy consumption […]

18 April 2024

NLR People: Arjan de Jong, 'Aircraft design for maintenance'

In the series ‘NLR People’, we show you who the experts at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre are, what drives them, and what they are working on behind the scenes. In this episode: Arjan de Jong, Principal R&D Engineer at the Maintenance and Engineering Technology (MAE) department. Maintenance technicians are the invisible backbone of aviation […]

26 March 2024

NLR People: Jürgen Teutsch, We’re moving towards new forms of airborne traffic

In the series ‘NLR People’, we show you who the experts at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre are, what drives them, and what they are working on behind the scenes. In this episode: Jürgen Teutsch, senior R&D engineer at the Air Traffic Management and Airport department. How a physicist helps organise our ever-busier airspace There […]
TRANSCEND - SMR-H2
Sustainability and Environment

11 March 2024

R&D case: Technology review clean energy for next-generation drivetrains (Transcend)

The Clean Sky 2 Coordination and Support Action TRANSCEND (Technology Review of Alternative and Novel Sources of Clean Energy with Next-generation Drivetrains) identifies what alternative energy sources for aviation and novel aircraft propulsion methods can help  mitigate climate change and achieve the environmental goals for 2050. Additionally, as we progress towards 2050 roadmaps and strategic recommendations […]
Construction and Manufacturing

04 March 2024

Exploring Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing

Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) can deliver enhanced efficiency, cost-effectiveness and design flexibility for composites cure tooling for Aerospace applications. For a while now NLR operates its own LSAM setup with success and actively participates in various projects dedicated to exploring this process. In a whitepaper NLR addresses the complexities and challenges but it also elaborates […]
Airbus A330 landing op Schiphol Airport.
Construction and Manufacturing

28 February 2024

COMPASS targets 30% waste reduction in aerospace

Co-funded by the European Commission the COMPASS project aims to revolutionise the remanufacturing of end-of-life parts into high quality components. This will lead to significant resource savings and promote a circular economy approach in the aerospace and automotive industries. Airbus predicts a demand for more than 40,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft deliveries over the […]
NLR Hybrid Electric Plane

01 February 2024

New NLR Vice President Aerospace Vehicles

The NLR organisation has three divisions: Aerospace Systems, Aerospace Operations and Aerospace Vehicles. As of today, Bert Thuis will strengthen the NLR management team as Vice President Aerospace Vehicles. This means that Bert is taking over the position of Collin Beers. We are pleased to inform you that per February 1, 2024, Bert Thuis has […]
NLR Highlights 2023

18 January 2024

Our Year in Review

Over the course of 2023, our efforts were devoted to many research projects. Some noteworthy ones are mentioned in this overview. Enjoy reading about our innovations and the people behind them, and don’t forget to watch the video for a first impression of a curated selection! As we look back on the year 2023, we […]