Pioneering Low-emission Regional Aviation

At ATR, our commitment to low‑emission regional aviation has always been central to our mission: enabling essential regional connectivity with the lowest environmental impact. As the global leader in regional aviation, we are steadily advancing the technologies, architectures and partnerships that will shape the next generation of more responsible and more efficient aircraft to benefit communities, airlines and the environment. 

It is within this long‑standing ambition that ATR proposed two projects under the Call 3 of Clean Aviation in 2025. This European Union flagship research and innovation programme provides the ideal framework to scale up innovation, accelerate technologies, and ensure the maturity of future solutions to reach climate-neutral aviation by 2050.  

Clean Aviation’s mission to decarbonise regional aviation and our role within the Ultra Efficient Regional Aircraft (UERA) thrust aligns seamlessly with the strategic sustainability direction we took years ago. 

Bringing together Europe’s leading aerospace players, Clean Aviation is more than a research initiative: it is a collective ambition shared by a diverse ecosystem including aircraft manufacturers, equipment suppliers, engine manufacturers, system specialists, and research institutes.  This network reflects the full breadth of aviation expertise needed to transform regional flight.  

The four Clean Aviation projects from Call 3 span five years. Launched in 2026, they share a common goal: to deliver a hybrid-electric flight demonstration that validates technologies capable of achieving 30% CO₂ reduction* for the next generation regional aircraft compared to 2020 state-of-the-art technology. 

_{*the 30% are expected to be reached as follows: 20% from the Call 3 projects, and 10% from the Call 4 projects.} 

Clean Aviation’s Call 3 encompasses four projects, all feeding into one ambition: shaping the future Ultra-Efficient Regional Aircraft concept. 

Two of those projects are respectively led by Pratt & Whitney Canada and Safran Electrical & Power, focusing on hybrid‑electric propulsion systems and advanced technologies to reduce fuel consumption and noise emissions, for the PHARES project, and on the onboard electrical power generation solutions to support hybrid-electric configuration for the OSYRYS Project, both essential to enabling safe and efficient hybridisation at regional‑aircraft scale. 

ATR leads the other two projects, leveraging the high-efficiency of our turboprop technology:  

HERACLES (Hybrid‑Electric Regional Aircraft Concept for Low EmissionS) defines the Ultra-Efficient Regional Aircraft concept expected to enter into service in 2035, integrating hybrid‑electric propulsion, high‑performance batteries, and a thermal engine compatible with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF),based on the outcomes of the PHARES and OSYRYS projects. 

DEMETRA (Demonstrator of an Electrified Modern Efficient Transport Regional Aircraft) is the flight‑demonstration programme. By 2029, it will test and validate the OSYRYS and PHARES technologies, using an ATR 72‑600 flying testbed, and conduct extensive ground‑based testing. 

By investing today in the technologies that will define tomorrow, we are taking concrete steps towards our long‑term ambition: preserving essential regional connectivity while dramatically reducing its environmental impact. 

Our participation in Clean Aviation goes beyond technology development. It reflects a shared determination with Europe’s leading aviation experts to rethink how regional aviation can evolve responsibly. 

Together, we are laying out the foundations of an entirely new generation of aircraft. One that will enable communities to stay linked, economies to thrive, and future generations to travel with a lighter footprint. This is not just an evolution in aircraft design; it is a decisive move towards a more responsible, resilient and hopeful future for regional air mobility.