Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act

To amend title 51, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish an initiative to conduct research, development, and demonstration on technologies capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and noise emissions from aircraft, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Air travel currently contributes approximately 3 percent to global carbon emissions, but emissions from this sector are expected to triple by 2050. (2) A healthy, thriving aviation sector contributes to the quality of life and economic well-being of the United States. In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration found that civil aviation accounted for 5.2 percent of the United States gross domestic product, generated $1,800,000,000,000, and supported 10,900,000 jobs. (3) Existing aircraft technologies contribute to noise pollution that has adverse impacts on the quality of life in affected communities. As air traffic volumes increase and the adoption of performance-based navigation technology proceeds, the problem of noise pollution is becoming more severe in some areas. (4) The United States has adopted a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the United States aviation sector by 2050. (5) Research on technologies to lessen the environmental and noise impacts of aviation is ongoing, but should accelerate, and should include work on the further maturation and integration of multiple enabling technologies on production aircraft, including novel integrated systems at the aircraft level. 3. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Initiative on reduction of greenhouse gas and noise emissions from aircraft (a) Initiative required Section 40112 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) as subsections (c) through (g), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: (b) Research and development initiative on reduction of greenhouse gas and noise emissions from aircraft (1) In general The Administrator shall establish an initiative to research, develop, and demonstrate new technologies and concepts— (A) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, other greenhouse gases, water vapor, particulates, black carbon and sulfate aerosols, and increased cloudiness due to contrail formation; (B) to reduce noise emissions from aircraft; and (C) to enable associated aircraft performance characteristics. (2) Goals The goals of the initiative shall be— (A) to ensure United States leadership in research and technology innovation leading to substantial reductions in aviation noise and greenhouse gas emissions; (B) to enhance and expand basic research, and the translation of basic research into applications, that may lead to transformational advances in reducing aviation noise and greenhouse gas emissions; (C) to accelerate research and development that contributes to maturing new technologies for reducing aircraft noise and greenhouse gas emissions; and (D) to obtain and disseminate associated testing and performance data that facilitates the incorporation of new technologies into commercial aircraft development as soon as practicable. (3) Objectives The objectives of the initiative and goals in paragraph (1) shall include— (A) a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from new and replacement aircraft to the extent necessary to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from United States aviation by 2050; (B) noise levels from aircraft throughout all phases of flight that do not exceed ambient noise levels in the absence of flight operations in the vicinity of the flight route; and (C) demonstration of new technologies and integrated technology suites developed pursuant to such initiative on new and replacement aircraft. . (b) Technology focus areas In carrying out the research and development initiative established under section 40112(b) of title 51, United States Code, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in this Act as the Administrator (1) advanced subsonic propulsion technology, design, and integration; (2) electric and hybrid-electric propulsion, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric systems; (3) direct burn of liquid hydrogen through advanced turbofan optimization for burning liquid hydrogen and minimizing associated water vapor emissions; (4) airframe concepts and configurations that simultaneously reduce noise and greenhouse gas emissions; (5) analysis of technology options, including cost-benefit analysis of greenhouse gas and noise emissions reduction technologies; (6) analytical tools for system-level and system-of-systems-level modeling and integration; (7) airspace operations improvements; (8) noise emissions reduction; and (9) any other effort, as determined by the Administrator, that contributes to a sustainable future for aviation. (c) Implementation In implementing the initiative established under section 40112(b) of title 51, United States Code, the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable— (1) ensure that testing and performance data integrates the results of community acceptance surveys conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration and other relevant studies, including studies on the impacts of new noise effects from novel propulsion systems and from airspace operations changes; (2) provide testing and performance data on the technologies described in subsection (b) of this section to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to facilitate the work of the Federal Aviation Administration in identifying new requirements for policy, infrastructure, and administrative capacity necessary to enable the safe integration of such technologies on aircraft; (3) pursue partnerships with organizations, current commercial production aircraft providers, academic institutions, small businesses, and new entrants, including partnerships to advance research and development activities related to both regional aircraft and aircraft designed to accommodate more than 125 passengers; (4) include universities, academic institutions, and other research organizations in the partnerships under paragraph (3); (5) expand basic research; (6) ensure equity in research sponsorship and partnership opportunities with underrepresented students, faculty, and minority-serving institutions; (7) continue to coordinate with the Department of Energy on battery technology research; (8) make available the research and development carried out under the initiative established under subsection (b) of section 40112 of title 51, United States Code, to help enable an industry-wide shift toward aircraft concepts that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aircraft noise to achieve the goals and objectives under paragraphs (2) and (3) of such subsection; and (9) continue to support research, development, and demonstration of aircraft concepts, including systems architecture, materials and components, integration of systems and airframe structures, human factors, airspace planning and operations, and the integration of related advanced technologies and concepts, with the goal of carrying out test flights with integrated subsystems by 2025. (d) Annual report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives on the progress of the efforts carried out under the initiative established under subsection (b) of section 40112 of title 51, United States Code, including— (1) measured progress toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and reduced noise emissions from United States aviation; (2) an updated, anticipated timeframe for readiness of technologies and aircraft to be adopted by industry with the emissions reduction levels directed under such subsection; and (3) an identification of fundamental aeronautics research activities contributing to achieving the goals and objectives of such initiative, as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of that subsection, and a description of any obstacles to achieving such goals and objectives.

Summary: Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish an initiative to research, develop, and demonstrate new technologies and concepts to reduce emissions and noise from aircraft. Emissions to be addressed include carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), water vapor, black carbon, and sulfate aerosols. The goals and objectives of the initiative shall include (1) ensuring U.S. leadership in research and technology innovation leading to substantial reductions in aviation noise and emissions; (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from new and replacement aircraft to the extent necessary to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. aviation by 2050; and (3) noise levels from aircraft throughout all phases of flight that do not exceed ambient noise levels in the absence of flight operations in the vicinity of the flight route.