Now in his final year of aerospace engineering at RMIT, the 21-year-old former Bendigo student is in France for the Fly Your Ideas Challenge.

Martin and four other students from the university will pitch their ideas to aircraft manufacturer Airbus. 

“Our proposal is for aircraft to be fuelled by a blend of sustainably produced, liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas),” he said. 

“This could reduce emissions by 20-97 per cent, depending on the blend ratio.

“It also has the potential to reduce the cost of jet fuel as LNG is four to five times cheaper than jet fuel.” 

The RMIT team, Cryogenic Liquid Methane Aircraft (CLiMA), is the only representative from Australia. Other teams are from Brazil, India, Italy and Malaysia. 

The winning group will receive $39,500 in prize money and will attend the industry-only opening of the Paris Air Show on June 17. 

Martin’s mother Lesley Burston said she was very proud of her son’s achievements.

“He loves designing aircraft,” she said.

“For him this trip is a dream come true.”

Ms Burston said her son, who left on Sunday, was looking forward to touring the Airbus facilities.

“They will actually be there at the headquarters of Airbus,” she said. “He will get to see how aircraft are put together and also meet the top aerospace engineers.” 

A former Bendigo Senior Secondary College student, Martin studied chemistry and physics during year 12.

Ms Burston said her son hoped to inspire other students to study science subjects. 

“He is pretty keen to inspire others to study subjects like specialist maths and science,” she said.

“I think he likes the idea that he can show people the possibilities that come from studying science.”

Teams will pitch their ideas today at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse and the overall winner will be announced on June 14.