Elevating Sustainability in Aerospace Cabling

At a Glance:

• Aviation sustainability goes far beyond emissions targets. While programs like the UK’s Jet Zero plan continue to be essential to long-term strategy, other factors like advanced materials have their role in creating a future with less environmental impact.
• Despite being unseen, aircraft wiring supports the dependability of numerous onboard systems. Now, composites, alloys and specialized insulators are essential in modern cable designs that support sustainability in aerospace.
• Jeff Wood, sales director at aerospace cable specialist WireMasters, explores recent developments in aircraft cabling materials and the technological forces driving their uptake. 

Reducing the environmental footprint of aviation requires more than cleaner fuel. Aircraft wiring represents a significant opportunity to drive efficiencies, especially when weight is a key variable. Every kilogram removed from an aircraft can save around 0.03 kg of fuel per 1,000 km no flown, which equates to roughly 0.0945 kg of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. When multiplied across global fleets, even modest weight reductions in wiring can translate into meaningful emission savings.

To combat this, manufacturers are using stronger and lighter materials like carbon fiber composites, aluminium alloy conductors and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). These materials allow for significant weight reductions while still meeting the exacting performance and safety standards needed in the aerospace industry.

Distributors play a central role here, providing access to these high‑performance materials along with the technical support needed to integrate them into aircraft systems. This collaboration allows OEMs to take advantage of material innovations without compromising reliability.

Moving Beyond Copper’s Limitations

Copper has long been the standard in aerospace cabling due to its superior conductivity, but its density poses challenges for aircraft efficiency. Aluminium alloys are now widely used as a viable alternative.

Although aluminium alloys achieve only 61% of copper’s conductivity, they offer up to half the weight in equivalent wiring configurations. Composed of aluminium with trace amounts of copper, iron and magnesium, the alloy’s balance of conductivity and reduced mass has established alloys as a reliable choice for avionic systems, enabling lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions while maintaining electrical performance.

Material longevity is another critical consideration. Extending the operational lifespan of wiring reduces both maintenance demands and the frequency of system replacements, minimizing electronic waste and the emissions associated with raw material extraction.

Composite PTFE jacketing has become a preferred solution for this purpose. It offers excellent abrasion and chemical resistance while performing in temperatures up to 260°C. These properties allow aerospace wiring to achieve service lifespans of up to 30 years, making PTFE‑jacketed cables a cost‑effective and environmentally responsible choice. Importantly, these jackets meet the AS22759 standard, ensuring consistent quality and performance under the extreme conditions of flight.

Fiberoptic cabling has emerged as a valuable innovation, replacing metallic conductors with glass fibers that weigh roughly 4 lb per 1,000 ft compared with about 39 lb for copper, a difference that accumulates into fuel savings across an aircraft’s service life. Alongside reduced weight, fiber delivers high data capacity with transfer speeds reaching 10 Gbps and complete immunity to electromagnetic interference. This improves signal integrity and eliminates the need for extensive shielding, allowing simpler designs that reinforce efficiency.

Supply Chains for Sustainability

It’s not just materials alone that matter: Trustworthy supply chain partners are crucial when striving for sustainability. Distributors streamline procurement processes, which ensures that OEMs can adopt sustainable, high-performance cabling that also meets industry standards. 

Trusted distributors allow for OEMs to get hold of high-demand advanced material such as composites but also ensure it complies with standards like AS22759. For applications in high temperatures, distributors also provide halogen-free insulation materials, providing technical expertise that meets with updated standards and regulations like the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) or FAR 25 Appendix F. This minimized any misuse of such materials that could result in system failures or compromised safety. 

Supply chain partners must work closely with OEMs to facilitate a smoother transition towards sustainable aviation, and smoother integration of these advanced materials. By coordinating procurement with accurate forecasting, inventory planning and supply chain visibility, such collaboration will create lightweight, durable aircraft systems that match the performance levels of their predecessors. 

As a result, aircraft are equipped with long-life sustainable cable systems that allow for the aerospace industry to make further progress towards emission goals like Jet Zero, which aims to deliver net zero aviation by 2050.