On 1 January 2002, 43 organisations from all of the aeronautical industry sectors in Europe launched a forward-looking initiative to pave the way for the next generation of aircraft equipment systems. Power Optimised Aircraft (POA) is a Technology Platform within the European Community (EC) 5th Framework Programme. It is a four-year project with a budget of about 100 million Euros, jointly funded by the EC and the consortium, which is being co-ordinated by Liebherr-Aerospace.

The aim of POA is to identify, optimise and validate innovative aircraft equipment which contributes to the reduction in consumption of non-propulsive power. The participating European equipment systems suppliers will make their visions a reality in a novel configuration of virtual and real platforms. The results of the effort will have a considerable effect on the way aircraft are designed and developed in the future, and a massive impact on the efficiency and power usage of an aircraft.

Conventional aircraft architectures embody a combination of systems dependent on mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical sources. Over the past few decades, aircraft systems research has tried to address the inefficiencies of each of these sources, as well as that of their constituent systems. POA will take this work further. Novel ways of generating, distributing, and using power on board will be examined at the aircraft level.

The latest in aircraft equipment technologies in four domains (engine systems, electrical power systems, actuation systems and pneumatic systems) will be integrated in three platforms, and a drastic reduction of non-propulsive energy usage will be validated. This will be achieved not through the traditional method of optimising individual systems, but by completely altering the way in which the architecture of aircraft systems is designed. This will allow the entire aeronautical supply chain to focus their technology and business strategies to address the needs of tomorrow`s markets today.

A reduction in non-propulsive power usage could be achieved by conceiving a "More-Electric Aircraft" systems architecture, as shown above.

The major contractors in the project encompass the whole spectrum of the industry. They include Airbus, Alenia Aerospazio, DLR (German Aerospace Centre), Hispano-Suiza, Liebherr-Aerospace, Rolls-Royce plc, Snecma Moteurs, Thales Avionics Electrical Systems and TRW Aeronautical Systems. 

The other contractors are taken from a broad spectrum of industry system, subsystem and component suppliers, service and tool providers, research institutes and universities. The project also integrates a large group of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as subcontractors.