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Lufthansa is using artificial sharkskin to streamline airplanes
Copying a trick from the animal kingdom can help cut aircraft emissions.
The problem is that it's extremely difficult to rival the volumetric energy density of jet fuel, which contains almost 50 times as many megajoules per liter than alternatives like hydrogen, ethanol, or lithium-ion batteries. Nearly 9,000 square feet (830 m2) of the planes' surface—along the fuselage and also the engine nacelles—will be covered with sheets of AeroSHARK film, which mimics the scales on actual sharkskin with 50-micron-thick riblets that reduce friction by minimizing the turbulent boundary layer. At one percent, the sharkskin's efficiency potential may not sound like much, but in total it will save thousands of tons of CO 2 per year on long-haul flights," said Austrian Airlines COO Francesco Sciortino.
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