Lufthansa Group and BASF Develop Sharkskin Technology

Lufthansa Technik and BASF's innovative surface technology boosts fuel efficiency and supports airlines in achieving sustainability targets. The lower the drag resistance of an aircraft in the air, the lower its fuel consumption. The aviation sector has long pursued intensive research into ways to reduce aerodynamic drag by drawing inspiration from nature. Lufthansa Technik and BASF have now achieved a breakthrough on this topic as part of a joint project. AeroSHARK, a surface film that mimics the fine structure of shark skin, entered service across Lufthansa Cargo's entire cargo aircraft fleet from early 2022, making aircraft more economical and reducing emissions. [caption id="attachment_125228" align="aligncenter"] (Photo: Sonja Brüggemann, Lufthansa Technik AG)[/caption]   The surface structure, consisting of riblets approximately 50 micrometers in diameter, optimizes aerodynamics on aircraft flow-related components by mimicking the properties of shark skin. This means the aircraft requires generally less fuel. For Lufthansa Cargo's Boeing 777F cargo aircraft, Lufthansa Technik estimates the drag reduction at more than 1 percent.

For the entire fleet of ten aircraft, this represents annual savings of approximately 3,700 tons of kerosene and fewer than 11,700 tons of CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to 48 freight flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai.

Christina Foerster, Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Lufthansa AG responsible for sustainability, said: "Responsibility towards the environment and society is an important strategic issue for us. We have consistently taken a leading role in developing environmentally conscious technologies. The new shark skin technology developed for aircraft demonstrates what strong and highly innovative business partners can achieve together for the environment. This will help us reach our goal of climate neutrality by 2050." Dr. Markus Kamieth, Member of the Board of Management of BASF, said: "The aviation sector faces challenges similar to those in the chemical industry. Despite high energy requirements, continuous progress must be made in protecting the climate. By working in close cooperation and successfully combining our expertise in surface design and aerodynamics, we have taken a significant step forward. This is an excellent example of sustainability achieved through partnership-based collaboration and innovative technologies." Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo AG, said: "Thanks to shark skin technology, we are proud to be able to operate all our cargo aircraft more efficiently in the future and further reduce the carbon footprint of our modern fleet. Our investment in deploying AeroSHARK at Lufthansa Cargo deliberately confirms our commitment to the United Nations' sustainable development goal in climate action." In its collaboration with BASF, Lufthansa Technik is responsible for material specifications, approval by aviation authorities, and the performance of aircraft modifications carried out during regular maintenance operations. As an approved aviation design organization with decades of experience, the company will obtain a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) required for operations with the 777F. Dr. Johanes Bussman, CEO of Lufthansa Technik AG, said: "As a leader in the global market for technical aircraft services, we have consistently used our expertise to contribute to reducing our sector's ecological footprint. By doing so, we can benefit from significant savings potential across all aircraft generations. For this reason, I am very proud that together with Lufthansa Cargo we can now transfer the positive findings from the validation phase to series implementation. Our highly constructive cooperation with BASF is also the best example of cross-industry collaboration for the benefit of aviation sector sustainability." BASF's Coatings Division, in its Beyond Paint Solutions unit, develops innovative and functional films such as riblet surfaces. A solution was implemented together with Lufthansa Technik, which meets the stringent requirements of the aviation sector. Exterior surfaces used in aviation are exposed to factors such as strong UV radiation as well as temperature and pressure fluctuations at high altitudes. For this reason, BASF focused its development work on providing extreme durability and resistance to weather conditions. Among the fundamental criteria for use in aviation operations are simple application and ease of use, as well as ease of repair, for which a special concept was developed. Dirk Bremm, Manager of BASF's Coatings Division and also responsible for functional films in this role, said: "As experts in surfaces, we develop customized solutions for our customers. Innovative shark skin technology enables us to support Lufthansa in achieving its sustainability targets and making the aviation sector somewhat more environmentally friendly." The aviation sector has researched the use of shark skin for years, albeit often on a small scale. In late 2019, Lufthansa Technik and BASF for the first time added 500 square meters of jointly developed shark skin surface to nearly the entire lower half of the fuselage of a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400, and this modification was approved by EASA. This aircraft (registered as D-ABTK) subsequently validated the technology's savings potential during scheduled long-distance service operations over more than 1,500 flight hours. This provided definitive evidence that emissions were reduced by approximately 0.8 percent thanks to the shark skin modification. The savings for the Boeing 777F are expected to be even higher due to the wider application areas resulting from the absence of windows on cargo aircraft. Savings were verified using fuel consumption analysis software developed by Lufthansa Technik. This software, based on comprehensive data, enables reliable verification of many different aircraft modifications. Lufthansa Technik and BASF plan to continue developing the new technology. In this way, the new technology will also cover additional aircraft types and larger surfaces, and thus be able to provide more comprehensive support to airlines worldwide in achieving their sustainability targets in the future. Initial model calculations show that the use of shark skin technology at the highest expansion level could reduce CO2 emissions by 3 percent.