Aerospace Ambition Podcast

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Episode 32 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Jonas Sperling (Lufthansa Systems) is out!

Talking Points

• What is Lufthansa Systems, and what role does it play in promoting sustainable aviation?
• What is the primary objective of the DKULT project, and what makes its approach unique?
• What role does Lufthansa Systems play in this project, and why do we need mathematicians and computer scientists in this?
• What is an optimizer? What needs to be optimized?
• How do airlines factor in the costs associated with avoiding contrails?
• Lufthansa Systems provides optimized routes but relies on climate data for accuracy. How do you ensure transparency with users regarding the quality and reliability of these optimal routes, given the dependency on climate data?
• What is the TF100 project about, and what role does Lufthansa Systems play in it?
• How do real-world trials enhance our understanding compared to simulations?
• How do you see the balance between operator initiated and VS. ANSP-managed contrail avoidance?

Guest

Jonas Sperling has had a deep ambition in aviation for a long time. He began his journey with Lufthansa Systems in 2019 as a dual student in Applied Informatics and has since become a full-time software engineer, contributing significantly to the D-KULT project, where he's been working on integrating climate costs into flight optimization processes.

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Episode 31 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Andrew Chen (RMI) is out!

Talking Points

• What does your research reveal that was previously unknown?

• Why has the Contrail Impact Taskforce gone for a 100-pages PDF report and who was this intended to reach?

• Should researchers take a more active role in communicating the importance of the problem on platforms beyond research papers?

• If the measurement of the climate impact, as opposed to modelling of this effect, is still a todo, how do we know that we need to act already?

• How do you respond to stakeholders claiming that even four trials the certainty is not enough?

• What does the statement about the inescapability of GWP100 in climate impact accounting mean, and shouldn’t we advocate for more ambitious metrics given its limitations and the urgency of climate goals?

• Why does the report not make a clear recommendation regarding the scope of the aviation MRV for non-CO2 effects?

• Given that CORSIA currently focuses on CO2, have we reached a point where the science and forecasting of contrails and their radiative forcing is advanced enough to consider a future version of CORSIA that includes non-CO2 effects like contrails?

Guest

Andrew Chen is the principal for aviation decarbonization at RMI, where he leads the aviation team’s efforts to accelerate the transition to net-zero air transport. With over 15 years of experience in sustainability strategy, environmental impact assessment, and emissions management, Andrew is a passionate and experienced leader in the field of decarbonization.

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Episode 30 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Prof. Paul Williams (University of Reading) is out!

Talking Points

• What caused turbulence on the Singapore Airlines flight in May?

• How does climate change affect aviation?

• What is clear-air turbulence (CAT) and can it be predicted?

• What is the relationship between clear-air-turbulance regions and ISSRs? Is there the risk to avoid • one thing and divert into another?

• How have your algorithms reduced severe CAT events?

• Will turbulence change how people view aviation?

Guest

Paul Williams is Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading. Educated in physics to PhD level at Oxford, he specialises in atmospheric turbulence, jet streams, numerical modelling, and climate change. He co-developed an award-winning aviation turbulence forecasting algorithm that is now being used operationally, and he has pioneered research into the effects of climate change on turbulence. He has published two books and over 70 scientific papers in leading journals, including Nature. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and the Royal Meteorological Society, and he is a consultant to Guinness World Records on extreme atmospheric events.

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Episode 29 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Dr Vincent Meijer (TU Delft) is out!

Talking Points

• What's it like working with Steven Barrett?

• How does your research contribute to legislation on non-CO2 effects?

• How do uncertainties impact the contrail prediction pipeline?

• Can ground cameras enhance contrail prediction accuracy?

• How does the water budget affect persistent warming contrails?

Guest

Dr Vincent Meijer recently completed his PhD at the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under Prof. Steven Barrett. His research focused on remote sensing of contrails and improving contrail forecasting. Vincent is now an Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology in the Aircraft Noise and Climate Effects group within the hashtag#Aerospace hashtag#Engineering faculty. He is also involved in EU projects like BeCoM (Better Contrail Mitigation).

Resources

• Meijer, Vincent R; "Satellite-based Analysis and Forecast Evaluation of Aviation Contrails.”; PhD thesis; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2024: https://lnkd.in/dXW-rMJP

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Episode 28 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Eóghain Mitchison (easyJet) is out!

Talking Points

• What is the MRV, and why is it important to make aviation more sustainable?

• What should be the scope of the MRV for non-CO2 effects, and why?

• How do you perceive lobbying activities around contrail management?

• How much of a fuel penalty would easyJet be willing to pay? 

• Does easyJet measure, report and verify already?

• Who would suffer the most from a reduction in scope?

Guest

Eóghain Mitchison is a Senior Policy Manager at easyJet. He represents easyJet in discussions with the EU and national governments on technical aspects of government policy, with a focus on climate regulations. His recent work has been centered on the 'Fit for 55' package of climate legislations, including the EU SAFs mandate (ReFuelEU) and the revision of the EU ETS.

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Episode 27 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Prof. Manuel Soler (Carlos III University of Madrid) is out!

Talking Points

• What are the goal and scope of E-CONTRAILS?

• How can we address the delays in data availability from the Meteosat Third Generation satellite, and how will E-CONTRAILS handle this issue?

• How can neural networks assist in assessing water vapor measurements? (Question from Dr Carmen Emmel)

• Was the attention given to the topic of ground-based observation at the Pycontrails event justified?

• Is the research community overly dependent on CoCiP?

• Should the MRV place greater reliance on observational data?

Guest

Manuel Soler is a Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at UC3M in Madrid. He serves as the Director of the Doctoral Program in Aerospace Engineering, leads the UC3M Aeronautical Operations Laboratory, and co-founded the Spin-Off AI-Methods. His research focuses on mitigating the climate impact of aviation, particularly contrails. Manuel Soler has participated in numerous European projects related to contrails (e.g., FLYATM4E and ALARM, where he helped develop the ClimaCCF library). He is currently the coordinator of the E-CONTRAIL project, which aims to develop artificial neural networks (utilizing remote sensing detection methods) to predict the climate impact of contrails and aviation-induced cloudiness. This work contributes to a better understanding of the non-CO2 impact of aviation on global warming and helps reduce associated uncertainties, essential steps towards green aviation.

Resources

• Abolfazl Simorgh, Manuel Soler. Pathways to Sustainable Aviation: Aligning Flight Plans with Climate Goals, 03 June 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4355046/v1

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Episode 26 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Dr Carmen Emmel & Dr Björn-Rüdiger Beckmann (Deutscher Wetterdienst) is out!

Talking Points

• What problem are you trying to solve in project MEFKON?

• Why is it so hard to sense relative humidity at cruising altitude?

• How does MEFKON relate to IAGOS?

• What can airlines offer in terms of humidity data back to the researchers on routine flights?

• What is the role of DWD in the D-KULT project, and what is the next milestone?

• On how many actual, real-world flights will the testing of contrail management be conducted on and where?

• If you were policymaker, what policies would you put in place to help optimization for contrail management?

Guests

Dr Carmen Emmel holds a PhD in atmospheric science and has spent a decade in atmospheric research and forecasting. For the past five years, she has been with the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD), where she coordinates meteorological aircraft-based observations, such as AMDAR. She is a prominent expert in aircraft-based observations, contributing to several EUMETNET and WMO committees, particularly focusing on humidity measurements. Carmen also serves as the vice chair of the WMO's Expert Team on Aircraft Based Observations and leads the subgroup on water vapour measurements.

Dr Björn-Rüdiger Beckmann, a Senior Aviation Meteorology Expert at DWD. Björn earned his diploma in physics with a thesis in agricultural meteorology and completed his PhD in climatology impact studies on Baltic Sea storm surges. His career spans over two decades at DWD, beginning as a weather forecaster and moving into aeronautical meteorology. He focuses on commercial aviation, climate change impacts on aviation, and climate change mitigation. Björn has also contributed to the European MET community and works with various organizations on climate-optimized flying and aviation safety.

Resources

• MEFKON: https://www.dwd.de/EN/research/projects/mefkon/mefkon_node.html

• D-KULT: https://www.dwd.de/DE/fachnutzer/luftfahrt/download/produkte/luftfahrt_und_klima/d_kult_info.pdf;jsessionid=9246EC00714DD728A0974AF8A037DF81.live21061?__blob=publicationFile&v=1

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Episode 25 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Jeremy Thomson (BALPA) is out!

Talking Points

• What current initiatives are being implemented on the flight deck to promote more sustainable aviation and operations, and how are pilots incentivised?

• What baseline should be used to measure the efficiency and fuel penalties of contrail management?

• Who should take ownership of contrail management—should it be a centralized (ATM) or decentralized (operators/pilots) decision?

• What can tech players like Google do to make your life easier when you are avoiding contrails?

• What actions can pilots take to encourage their airlines to explore contrail avoidance?

• What measures have been introduced to make taxiing more efficient?

Guest

Jeremy Thomson is the Vice Chair of the Environment Study Group of BALPA, which is the British Airline Pilot Association. He graduated in Theoretical Physics and has held various roles in science communication and renewable energy technologies. In 2012, he began training as a short-haul airline pilot. Jeremy has been an active volunteer representative on several BALPA flight safety groups and founded their Environment Study Group in 2020. This group focuses on understanding aviation's environmental impact, exploring reduction strategies, and analyzing upcoming environmental regulations and policies and their effects on BALPA members' careers.

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Episode 24 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Sebnem Erzan (Google) is out!

Talking Points

• What is Google's role in promoting sustainable aviation?

• How does Google determine whether to open-source vs. to commercialize?

• What was the setup and outcome of Google's contrails project in 2023?

• What can others learn from Google to create a media buzz around science?

• Where is collaboration working well and where could it be improved?

• What role do consumers play in making aviation more sustainable?

• What challenges exist with including non-CO2 effects in the Travel Impact Model?

Guest

Sebnem Erzan is the Head of Travel Sustainability & Transport, Global Partnerships at Google, based in Zurich, Switzerland. With over 12 years at Google, she has held several key positions, including Head of Business Development for EMEA and Head of Channel Sales for Turkey, Middle East, and Africa. Sebnem holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Economics from the Bosphorus University, and she has completed additional executive education at Duke University and the University of Exeter. Her expertise spans strategy, business development, digital marketing, and sustainability.

Resources

• Google Project Contrails: https://sites.research.google/contrails/

• Travel Impact Model: https://travelimpactmodel.org/

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Episode 23 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Jo Dardenne from Transport & Environment is out!

Talking Points

• What is T&E and what is its role in sustainable aviation?

• How do you balance economic growth with climate goals

• What would it take for T&E to recognise the efforts of SESAR as sufficiently credible to give confidence that the sector is on the right track to decarbonize?

• Why should companies prioritize synthetic fuels over crop-based biofuels for corporate travel?

• Who is lobbying and how against the MRV scheme and contrail management?

• What are the challenges and opportunities that Airbus faces in transitioning to hydrogen-powered planes and the potential impact on the environment?

• How can we go from SAF pilot projects to final investment decisions and how does the T&E e-fuel tracker help?

Guest

Jo Dardenne from “Transport & Environment” joined T&E in 2019 after spending four years at Grayling Brussels Public Affairs as a public affairs manager, where she led the transport practice. At T&E, she is the aviation director, managing sustainable aviation campaigns to mitigate the impact of this fast-growing source of greenhouse gases. Her work focuses on aviation taxation, the EU emissions trading system, and sustainable fuels. Jo graduated from ISMaPP in Paris, where she studied public and political management and communication, following three years of law studies.

Resources

• Roadmap to climate neutral aviation in Europe https://te-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/files/TE-aviation-decarbonisation-roadmap-FINAL.pdf

• E-fuels for planes: with 45 projects, is the EU on track to meet its targets? https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/e-fuels-for-planes-with-45-projects-is-the-eu-on-track-to-meet-its-targets

• Sustainable Aviation Fuels Sustainability Guide for Corporate Buyers https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/sustainable-aviation-fuels-sustainability-guide-for-corporate-buyers

• Airbus, show us the money

https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/airbus-show-us-the-money

• Non-CO2 emissions: NGOs, airlines and aviation industry actors call upon the European Commission to monitor non-CO2 emissions on all flights https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/non-co2-emissions-ngos-airlines-and-aviation-industry-actors-call-upon-the-european-commission-to-monitor-non-co2-emissions-on-all-flights