The aviation industry has taken significant steps to reduce carbon emissions and Caeli Nova has efficiently played its part in this journey sustainable and safe aviation. Modern aircraft built with lightweight materials and improved technologies are helping to limit the industry’s impact on the environment; but more has to be done. Here Caeli Nova’s flagship product “Cordillera” comes to the aid. With Cordillera, Caeli Nova targets the root of the problem by focusing on the reduction of fuel consumption and enabling more efficient flying.
Cordillera allows airlines to operate shorter flights, with associated reductions in fuel and carbon emissions, and to reduce the fuel reserves needed to be carried on ETOPS flights. Caeli Nova CEO Tim Wakeford in conversation with MRO Business Today talks about the award winning “Cordillera”, sustainable aviation, and the future of comfortable and safe air travel. Read On…….
Q – Can you tell our readers what is Cordillera, the award-winning passenger oxygen system?
Ans – Cordillera is a retrofittable emergency oxygen system for passenger aircraft which removes a number of aircraft operational limitations and allows substantial economic benefits for aircraft operators. The system exploits Caeli Nova’s patented technology, which improves the oxygenation of the human body in various situations, including for aircraft passengers after a cabin decompression. Cordillera has been intensively tested to comply with international medical and regulatory requirements and been developed with extensive industry collaboration, across airlines, manufacturers and airworthiness authorities.
In addition to keeping passengers safe, our innovative oxygenation solution overcomes historic capability limitations, enabling shorter flights, reduced fuel and carbon emissions, plus wider cost and sustainability benefits for airline operators.
Q – How does Cordillera enable aircraft operators to reduce both fuel usage and carbon emissions?
Ans – Enabling the flight to continue at a higher altitude, in the unlikely case of a cabin decompression, it allows airlines to plan for more direct routes on every single flight, shortening the flight time and consequently significantly reducing the fuel consumption.
In the primary use case – high terrain – Cordillera opens up most direct existing airways for passenger flights, such as the Y1 and L888 routes over the Himalayas. Using shorter routes reduces the amount of fuel being burnt and the amount of reserve fuel needed onboard.
Q – How does Caeli Nova’s innovative technology improve passenger oxygenation?
Ans – Caeli Nova’s technology moves away from the traditional system that aims to deliver as much oxygen as possible to the mask in the hope enough gets absorbed. Such systems require carrying a lot of oxygen, but our bodies can’t absorb it all and therefore these systems are highly inefficient. Therefore, keeping a decompressed aircraft higher for longer would mean making the oxygen cylinders of centralised systems or the chemical generators in decentralised systems larger and larger.
Our approach is based on the body’s actual requirement for oxygen and how it can be managed by controlling the gas mixture that’s breathed. It means we can maximise absorption, reducing wastage and extending the duration of oxygen supply while remaining within the current space and weight boundaries for such systems. A passenger or crew member using the system will notice no difference apart from a slightly better fitting mask, while Cordillera works in the background to ensure their oxygenation is optimised.
Q – How does Cordillera protect passengers in the rare event of a loss of cabin pressure?
Ans – Current regulations require aircraft to make a demanding and rapid descent to 10,000ft, which is defined as a safe breathing altitude for passengers, after loss of cabin pressure. But Cordillera’s technology means passengers can stay well oxygenated and safe for more than 90 minutes at 21,000ft. Our product allows the pilots to use that time to safely divert the aircraft at a higher altitude to a suitable airport following a decompression.
Continuing the mission at a higher altitude means aircraft can remain in less congested airspace and allows pilots a longer duration to make critical decisions.
Q – What is a key component in your sustainability strategy in aviation that has taken significant steps to reduce carbon emissions?
Cordillera is proof that applying state of the art research and innovation to enhance longstanding aircraft technologies, like the emergency oxygen system, has the potential to transform the way we fly.
Caeli Nova wants to be part of the plan that allows aircraft operators to achieve their sustainability goals. Cordillera has the potential to save the aviation industry annually more than $500 million and 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by opening direct routes over high-terrain and reducing reserve fuel on ETOPS routes.
We have identified 50 to 60 major airlines that would benefit from being able to access the more direct Himalayan routes, with 50% of the global widebody fleet seeing significant advantages.
Q – What are Caeli Nova’s future plans? Can you discuss?
Caeli Nova is in advanced stages of discussions with major airlines, in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America regarding the retrofit of Cordillera onto existing widebody fleets. We are also in detailed discussions with OEMs about offering Cordillera as a line fit option in the near future and we signed a partnership agreement with Airbus in September 2021.
