Preface to the 15th EASN International Conference on “Innovation in Aviation & Space Towards Sustainability Today & Tomorrow” (EASN 2025) ^†

1. Introduction

The 15th EASN International Conference on “Innovation in Aviation & Space towards sustainability today & tomorrow” was successfully held at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, from October 14th to 17th, 2025.

The conference was co-organized by the EASN Association and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Aeronáutica y del Espacio (ETSIAE). The event included four keynote speeches, two discussion panels and more than 480 presentations and discussion slots distributed in 80 sessions and workshops.

In addition, more than 100 posters took part in the Poster Section with a Best Poster Award in the Poster Competition. More than 100 Aviation and Space Projects disseminated their latest research results as well as the future trends in the respective technological fields. In total, 650 participants from 35 countries attended the 15th EASN International Conference.

Like its predecessors, the conference proved to be a major European dissemination event for research in Aviation and Space, providing a forum for EU-funded project activities, where innovative ideas, breakthrough concepts, and disruptive technologies are presented and discussed, also with the aim of establishing new research partnerships and possible synergies. In addition, several European policy development projects found the floor to present future strategic priorities.

2. Keynote Speeches

The keynote speeches, given by distinguished personalities of the European Aviation and Space sector, were among the highlights of the event. The conference delegates were updated on the future industrial trends and European priorities with respect to medium- and long-term goals. More specifically:

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Mr. Pierre-Alain Lambert, Safran VP for Research & Technology Roadmaps, presented the topic “Flying to aviation sustainability with hydrogen: Facts & Challenges”;

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Dr. Markus Fischer, German Aerospace Center (DLR), gave a speech entitled “Shaping the aviation of tomorrow”;

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Mr. Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Space Division, Leonardo, made a presentation about the “Impact of space technologies for sustainability and resilience”;

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Prof. Gustavo Alonso, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), gave the keynote speech “Is the eco-system of the European aerospace engineering education prepared to adapt to the transformation of Aerospace?”.

3. Discussion Panels

In addition, two discussion panels took place, bringing together industry experts, researchers, and industry leaders. The discussions focused on fostering continuous development and driving innovation, with participants exchanging diverse perspectives and ideas. More specifically:

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Prof. Spiros Pantelakis, University of Patras & Honorary Chairman of the EASN Association, moderated the first discussion panel on the topic “Re-charge innovation to re-gain Europe’s competitiveness” with the following panelists:

• Mr. Andreas Boschen, SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, Executive Director;
• Dr. Markus Fischer, Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics (DLR), Acting Chairman of EREA;
• Mr. Axel Krein, Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, Executive Director;
• Prof. Andreas Strohmayer, University of Stuttgart & Chairman of the EASN Association.

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Prof. Ernesto Limiti, University of Roma “Tor Vergata”, moderated the second discussion panel entitled “Sustainability in Space Technologies, Applications & Systems” with the following panelists:

• Prof. Ernestina Cianca, University of Roma “Tor Vergata”;
• Mr. Josef Kaspar, VZLU AEROSPACE, Board Chairman & CEO;
• Dr. Kai Lindow, Fraunhofer IPK, Director Digital Engineering;
• Mr. Francisco Ayuga García, GMV, Head of S3T System Development Space Surveillance & Traffic Management;
• Mr. Andrea Vena, ESA—European Space Agency, Chief Climate and Sustainability Officer.

4. Presentations and Papers

It would be our omission not to make a special reference to the high quality of the presentations made and we are grateful to all authors and presenters. The present open access Special Issue of Engineering Proceedings includes 204 papers based on presentations made during the 15th EASN International Conference. All papers have been subjected to peer review. The papers are classified into the following chapters:

• Flight Physics and Alternative Propulsion;
• Hybrid Electric and Electric Flight;
• Aircraft Design and Aerodynamic Analysis;
• Materials, Manufacturing and Structures;
• Small Air Transport (SAT) Technologies and UAS and Scaled Flight Testing;
• Air Traffic Management and Airports and Human Factors;
• Space Technologies;
• Regulation and Policies.

5. International Scientific Committee

• Prof. Emmanuel Benard, ISAE-SUPAERO, France;
• Dr. Marianna Braza, CNRS, France;
• Dr. Wiebke Brinkmann, DFKI, Germany;
• Prof. Andrew Cook, University of Westminister, UK;
• Dr. Javier Crespo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Cristina Cuerno Rejado, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Gisela Detrell, TU München, Germany;
• Dr. Vittorio Di Vito, CIRA, Italy;
• Prof. Christine Espinosa, ISAE-SUPAERO, France;
• Prof. Angelos Filippatos, University of Patras, Greece;
• Prof. Mario Guagliano, Politecnico di Milano, Italy;
• Prof. Ola Isaksson, Chalmers University, Sweden;
• Prof. Elena Jasiuniene, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania;
• Prof. Ivo Jebacek, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic;
• Dr. Alexandra Karanika, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Greece;
• Dr. Dietrich Knörzer, former Senior Officer, Aviation Unit, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission;
• Mr. Andreas Koetter, Capgemini, Germany;
• Prof. Konstantinos Kontis, University of Glasgow, UK;
• Prof. Paraskevas Kontis, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU), Norway;
• Mr. Volker Krajenski, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany;
• Prof. Theodora Kyratsi, University of Cyprus, Cyprus;
• Prof. Patrizia Lamberti, University of Salerno, Italy;
• Prof. Ernesto Limiti, University of Roma “Tor Vergata”, Italy;
• Prof. Alfonso Martín Erro, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Antonio Martínez Raya, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Mr. Jeronimo Medina Gonzalez, Airbus Group, Spain;
• Prof. Nikolaos Michailidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece;
• Prof. Katarina Monkova, Technical University in Košice, Slovakia;
• Prof. Juan José Morillas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Dr. Catalin Nae, National Institute of Aerospace Research “ELIE CARAFOLI”—INCAS, Romania;
• Dr. Björn Nagel, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany;
• Ms. Ligeia Paletti, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany;
• Prof. Shia-Hui Peng, Mälardalen University, Sweden;
• Prof. Luis Perez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Francisco Pérez Moreno, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Dr. Helge Pfeiffer, KU Leuven, Belgium;
• Dr. Jordi Pons Prats, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain;
• Mr. Prajwal Prakasha, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany;
• Dr. Ricardo Reis, Embraer, Portugal;
• Prof. Daniel Rodríguez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Dr. Álvaro Rodríguez Sanz, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Francesco Salvato, Italian Association in Industrial Research (AIRI), Italy;
• Prof. Francisco Sastre Matesanz, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Lidia Serrano Mira, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain;
• Prof. Ivica Smojver, University of Zagreb, Croatia;
• Prof. Cezary Szczepanski, Warsaw Institute of Aviation, Poland;
• Prof. Octavian Thor Pleter, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania;
• Prof. Konstantinos Tserpes, University of Patras, Greece;
• Prof. Vincenzo Tucci, University of Salerno, Italy;
• Dr. Angela Vozella, CIRA, Italy;
• Prof. Yavuz Yaman, Middle East Technical University, Turkey;
• Dr. Jie Zhao, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom.

6. Acknowledgements

The organizers would like to cordially thank all the participants of the 15th EASN International Conference. Many thanks are also due to the Keynote Speakers, Session Chairs, authors and presenters, the International Scientific Committee, and the local Organizing Committee for making this conference a big success. A big thank you also to Aerospace MDPI, a peer-reviewed, open access journal of aeronautics and astronautics published monthly online by MDPI, for the invaluable support.

We are also grateful for the support of:

• CINEA—European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency;
• Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking;
• SESAR Joint Undertaking;
• Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA);
• Association of European Space Research Establishments (ESRE);
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft;
• Plataforma Tecnológica Aeroespacial Española (PAE);
• Asociación Española de Empresas Tecnológicas de Defensa, Seguridad, Aeronáutica y Espacio (TEDAE).

7. Next Conference

In response to the high interest of the European Aviation and Space Community in the EASN series of conferences, EASN has announced its 16th EASN International Conference on “Innovation in Aviation & Space towards sustainability today and tomorrow”, which will be held in Toulouse, France, on 27–30 October 2026, and we are looking forward to welcoming all of you there.