06-05-2025
The ‘shark skin' technology that could make flying cheaper
Scientists have developed an artificial 'shark skin' coating for aeroplanes, which they say could potentially reduce turbulence and save airlines billions in fuel costs.
As part of its Sustainable Skies Lab, the American airline Delta has partnered with the Australian aerospace firm MicroTau to investigate whether the coating could be applied to planes.
It may sound like science fiction, but some airlines have already developed similar technologies and are already adding it to their fleets.
Here is everything we know about the 'shark skin' technology, and how it could make for a cheaper, smoother, cleaner ride at 35,000 feet.
So no animals were harmed in its creation?
Despite the name, the 'shark skin' is entirely artificial.
Incidentally, Delta is also teaming up with Airbus to investigate another flying technique called 'fello'fly' which takes inspiration from the movement of migrating geese.
How could 'shark skin' technology reduce fuel costs?
When an aircraft moves through the air, tiny whirlpools called hairpin vortices form on the plane's surface, creating resistance.
The idea is that applying the riblets to the aircraft could reduce drag by smoothing the air flow.
This would help to reduce fuel consumption by up to 4 per cent, according to Delta. Applied across the industry this could amount to a saving of as many as 4 billion gallons of fuel and millions of tons of CO2 emissions.
For example, if applied to an Airbus A380 flying from Sydney to LA, an airline would save around $5,000 and the aircraft would save more than 18 metric tons of emissions. So as a knock-on effect, the technology could plausibly make flying cheaper for passengers, too.
The International Air Transport Association, of which the majority of global airlines (including Delta) are members, has pledged to achieve net zero by 2050.
And what about turbulence?
Researchers say that the film coating could have other positive impacts for passengers, including increasing the speed of aircraft and reducing turbulence.
In a study from 2016, the University of Melbourne found that turbulent boundary layers, thin layers of liquid or air that form around bodies of vehicles, can contribute to drag.
'Even when aircraft is flying through perfectly still air, there is still this layer that forms over the aircraft and gets thicker and thicker toward the back of the plane. Within that layer, everything is chaotic and turbulent,' said Associate Professor Hutchins.
'We've found if you replicate that shark skin texture on the surface of an aircraft, you get some reduction in drag due to the turbulent boundary layers,' Hutchins added. In the 2016 report, it was suggested that maintenance issues and concerns around the colouring of the shark skin could have slowed progress in the adoption of the technology.
Could it be added to any aircraft?
MicroTau, the Australian firm that has teamed with Delta, has used laser technology to create the shark-skin pattern on self-adhesive patches. They say that these could be added onto existing aircraft, and indeed other modes of transport.
Is this actually going to happen?
It appears so. In fact, some airlines are already using their own version of the technology.
Lufthansa, Latam, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and All Nippon Airways have adopted 'Aeroshark' which works in a similar way and have already added it to some of their fleet.
Japan Airlines has also developed its own version of the technology in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Their method, however, uses a water-soluble mould to create riblet grooves on a painted surface. Applying this requires meticulous skill.
Delta says it will now begin testing the 'shark skin' riblets on its Boeing 767 fleet.
Sangita Sharma, director of Delta's Sustainable Skies Lab, said: 'We'll do ground testing, and then we'll work our way towards on-wing testing and eventually live aircraft testing. So this process is actually multi-year, very long, because safety and reliability are first.'
