Delta collaborates with MicroTau to test innovative fuel efficiency technology

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Delta collaborates with MicroTau to test innovative fuel efficiency technology

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Ranjan Goswami, Senior Vice President – Customer Experience Design | Delta Air Lines

By Sky Industry News

Apr 9, 2025

Delta Air Lines has announced a partnership with MicroTau, an Australian aerospace technology company, as part of its Sustainable Skies Lab. This collaboration focuses on innovations inspired by nature, particularly using technology that mimics shark skin to enhance fuel efficiency. The "shark skin" riblets, developed by MicroTau, are set to be tested on Delta's Boeing 767 fleet, with potential improvements in fuel efficiency by up to 4%.

The riblets, inspired by the microscopic grooves called dermal denticles found on sharks, are designed to be applied to the fuselage, wings, and tail of aircraft. By smoothing airflow and reducing drag, this technology aims to decrease fuel consumption significantly.

Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab, created in 2023, functions as an innovation hub, forging partnerships to sustainably transform air travel. Sangita Sharma, Director of the Sustainable Skies Lab, stated, “Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab bridges the gap between ideas and proven innovation by accelerating research, design and testing for a more sustainable future of air travel.”

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The lab seeks partners who contribute both to immediate fuel savings and to long-term revolutionary aircraft design. Another nature-inspired initiative is the use of finlets, akin to fish fins, developed with Vortex Control Technologies (VCT) to reduce drag on Delta's 737 fleet. These finlets work by reshaping airflow to minimize vortices, similar to winglets.

With jet fuel accounting for approximately 90% of Delta's carbon emissions annually, the airline is focused on reducing these emissions through strategic modifications and innovations on its existing fleet and future aircraft.