Sharkskin Technology: Improved aerodynamics in aviation

In a joint project, BASF and Lufthansa Technik have succeeded in developing a functional film that mimics the fine structure of a shark’s skin and thus optimizes aerodynamics at flow-relevant parts of the aircraft. As a result, fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions can be reduced.

The surface structure, which consists of riblets around 50 micrometers in size, imitates the properties of a shark’s skin. Covering the flow-relevant areas of the aircraft with the functional film NovaFlex SharkSkin reduces drag by around 1 percent, which in turn saves around 400 tons of kerosene and around 1,250 tons of CO₂ per aircraft (long-haul passenger aircraft of the type Boeing 777-300ER) per year. Lufthansa Technik and BASF intend to systematically develop the new technology in the direction of additional aircraft types and even larger areas, so that it can support airlines around the world even more comprehensively in achieving their emission targets in the future. In initial model calculations, the sharkskin technology could even avoid CO₂ emissions of up to three percent in its maximum expansion stage.