France has pledged to invest €1.5 billion (£1.3bn) to have its first carbon-neutral plane launched by 2035.
The project comes as a part of a massive €15 billion (£13.4bn) bailout plan for the country’s aviation industry.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire declared a ‘state of emergency’ to save the aeronautics industry so it can be more competitive.
He added: “We must at all costs avoid a stall in our industry. We want to accelerate decarbonisation of the aeronautical sector and manufacture a carbon-neutral aircraft in 2035.”
The Council for Civil Aeronautical Research will receive the funds to develop new technologies, which could allow the launch of a carbon-free plane.
Nous voulons accélérer la décarbonation de la filière aéronautique et parvenir à la fabrication d’un avion neutre en carbone en 2035.Le Conseil pour la recherche aéronautique civile recevra un soutien d’1,5 milliard € sur 3 ans pour développer de nouvelles technologies #PlanAéro pic.twitter.com/7lD4dnIygh
— Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) June 9, 2020
