The numbers alone would suffice to classify the tenth edition of AED Days as a success: 620 participants, 289 companies, and 21 nationalities attended the event of the cluster that represents a total of 1.7 billion euros, with 87% of these earnings from exports. However, the value of this gathering surpasses mere accounting, as emphasized by Pedro Cilínio, the Secretary of State for the Economy, one of the officials who visited Taguspark in Oeiras, during the venue. “It is also a technological demonstration of the country,” said the graduate in Engineering and Industrial Management. “Companies in this sector must be at the forefront. This showcase helps promote a technological image abroad, attracting investment and sectors of activity that contribute to altering the profile of our economy.”
When the association of the three sectors – aeronautics, space, and defense – exceeds 120 members, it is time to focus on internationalization, as President José Neves reinforced in his opening message at the conference, stating the intention to “project the cluster internationally,” “foster collaboration among people and nations,” and “enhance the country’s credibility,” always based on promoting knowledge and considering the main objective of AED Days as encouraging “connections and collaborations.” Other points emphasized by José Neves during the initial session included the perspective of aviation as a driver of socioeconomic development. This perspective becomes particularly evident with the ongoing development of the first Portuguese aircraft under the responsibility of EEA Aircraft, produced in Ponte de Sor. An investment of 100 million euros and the creation of 300 direct jobs turns the project of a lightweight aircraft with 19 seats, destined for the African and Latin American markets, into a significant milestone in the national economy.
“We have foreseen a return of 33% on the current Military Programming Law, but we have to aim higher, we need to have a return of 100% for the Portuguese economy”
José Neves
Miguel Braga, Director of Aeronautics and Defense at the Center for Engineering and Product Development (Ceiia) did not miss any of the ten AED Days events. Certain of the conference’s growing success, in his opinion it demonstrates that the decision to unite the three sectors into a single cluster the best one to take. “These successive editions show that the decision we made five or six years ago to join the three subareas was a good decision,” emphasized Miguel Braga. “We had doubts, but we managed to create scale, which is decisive for the affirmation of these sectors. We benefited from this union in a sector that requires integration,” he added.
Another way to assess the impact of the aggregation is through the growth in the number of members, reinforcing the characteristic complementarity of the area. “Other sectors are beginning to see this as an accessible sector,” noting the example of industries such as molds, software, automotive, and even healthcare, which are expanding into other areas, particularly those represented by AED, since “the know-how applies.”
“Car manufacturers came to understand that this is an interesting market [advanced air mobility] and started making significant investments”
Frederico Fernandes
Moreover, as these three sectors increasingly become part of our lives. Keisuke Yasukoshi, business development manager of the e-VTOL company SkyDrive, based in Toyota, Japan, is probably the participant who traveled the farthest to reach Oeiras. During the session on the Future of Flight, in which he participated as a speaker, the Japanese precisely left the message of generalizing flight as a form of daily transportation. “Everyone wants to fly,” he observed. And flying will be for “the general public, not just the wealthy. It will be for everyday life.” In his first visit to the country and admitting being previously unfamiliar with the ecosystem, he was positively surprised. “I see it as a good market, a good opportunity. Things are starting to happen,” he observed. Frederico Fernandes, General Manager of VPorts, a company promoting Urban Air Mobility, who participated in the same session, acting as a moderator, told us that this market of Advanced Air Mobility “grew like a mushroom,” fueled by investors from around the world. It all started in Silicon Valley, where people first started to realize that Advanced Air Mobility was possible, and then expanded to the rest of the world, with numerous initiatives underway. “Car manufacturers came to understand that this is an interesting market and started making significant investments,” he said, giving the example of Hyundai, the car manufacturer based in Seoul. “It became a serious thing!”
Advocating that the future of terrestrial mobility will also involve air mobility, “more sustainable, less noisy, and less burdensome,” Frederico Fernandes says it is time to define procedures and create rules by civil authorities for this to become a reality. “This new sector brings challenges. At the propulsion level – we don’t know the engines -, we don’t know the shape of the wing, the way of driving. We don’t know the material or the software.” Both Frederico and Keisuke agree that in this field, the Middle East will lead. “There is more flexibility, driven by economic interests,” Frederico Fernandes justifies. “[The Middle East] will pull the cart, and the rest of the world will eventually follow its footsteps,” he concludes.
“We are living exciting times in aviation”
Rosalinde Van der Viles
A topic that was practically crosscut throughout the event, referred to in presentations, parallel conversations, and projects on display in the Taguspark congress center’s hall, is carbon neutrality. “Decarbonization is one of our main objectives, the challenge of the century,” declared José Neves to the meeting’s participants. In fact, the morning of the second day was entirely dedicated to the theme of sustainable aviation. A change that Europe is prepared to face, argued the Director of the European initiative Clean Planet, Rosalinde Van der Viles, who referred to the solutions stemming from research and development as being extendable to the entire value chain. “We are living exciting times in aviation,” said the official.
One example of this transformative change, pointed out by Manuel Costeira da Rocha, Director of Technological Strategy at Smartenergy, an investment company focused in renewable energies, is Galp’s investment in green hydrogen, with a target of 600 megawatts, or Japan’s decision to include ten percent sustainable fuels in aviation by 2030. An inevitable change that began to “take off” last year, argued Klaus Mueller, from the consultancy firm Aerodynamic Advisory. “Many companies in the US are losing employees because people don’t want to work in this industry. By decarbonizing, we are not only decarbonizing aviation, but we are also saving our way of life,” he said, recalling the goal of eliminating all CO2 from the atmosphere by 2100. To achieve this, the expert advocates, it takes a multi-solution approach that includes Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), considered “crucial” for reducing emissions over the next ten to fifteen years. While hydrogen continues to be considered a viable alternative, provided the storage issue is resolved. “Americans tend not to do anything until it is economically viable. But when they get involved, they quickly find solutions and come up with new developments,” he said.
Crises are also opportunities for change, as stated by the most basic of the management manuals. And Portugal can go through this gigantic and global crisis becoming independent. “The shift to these new forms of energy is giving countries an opportunity for energy independence. It is an opportunity for the future,” Klaus Mueller concluded in his final message.
“We will have a permanent presence in space, from where we will monitor life on Earth.”
Ricardo Conde
Even if it didn’t serve any other purpose, space would always have its inspiring role, especially for the younger generations. But from space, solutions to many of the problems we experience on Earth can also emerge, reminded Ricardo Conde, President of Portugal Space. One example is the space observation systems that allow monitoring of agricultural productions. “With satellite images, we can increase production by 10%,” emphasized Ricardo Conde, who envisions in this new model of space access, the New Space, a private space station, space hotels, and the prospect of militarization of space. “We will have a permanent presence in space, from where we will monitor life on Earth. Don’t be surprised if in a few years, along with the water bill, there comes a fee for space debris, similar to the waste removal fee for urban waste,” he added.
Investor and author of books dedicated to the space economy, Raphael Roettgen, from E2MC, detailed the current moment, which he classifies as “a turning point,” where it is becoming possible to think, and invest, in sectors such as asteroid mining or the production of medicines or cellular tissues in Earth’s orbit. Much beyond “millionaire voyages.” A “strategic” domain, the specialist defends. “How would Ukraine be without satellites?” he questioned.
A cost reduction in space access of around 95%, accompanied by an extraordinary decrease in the size of satellites – “from the size of a bus to 30 centimeters,” – with the miniaturization of components themselves, it turns these and other business models possible. Ones that just a decade ago would have only existed in fiction and are now present in the investment portfolios of venture capital companies.
Defense, naturally, was another ubiquitous subject, however it is not only the current situation, with the war in Ukraine, that brings us closer to this area, as stressed by Rui Santos, AED Managing Director. “The common understanding that we as Europe needed to harmonize and boost our collective efforts towards a better and more resilient Defense mechanism, to safeguard our values and way of life, started already some years ago. For Portugal, our role is to be able to contribute to this joint effort in a way that allows also for the technological and economical added value to be retained here also” said Rui Santos.
A statement with which Admiral Gouveia e Melo could not agree more. “We have been trying to cluster our activities with the national industry for many years. However, this industry was still in a very larval state of organization,” reveals the Admiral. “Gradually, we realized that if we organized ourselves together – the industry, academia, and customers – it would be beneficial for everyone.” With companies working in the defense sector receiving a guarantee of quality that allows them to reach other markets. “We have foreseen a return of 33% on the current Military Programming Law, but we have to aim higher, we need to have a return of 100% for the Portuguese economy,” said José Neves.
During the event, there was also room to discuss topics such as Artificial Intelligence, smart materials, and the challenges of recruiting in such specialized areas. However, as José Neves emphasized, the main objective for organizing this meeting, year after year, is to promote connections, collaboration, discussions, and the exchange of ideas. “It’s one of the reasons why we hold the AED Days. We will build it together!”