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07 Jun 2024

Study finds SAF cuts warming effect of aircraft contrails

A new in-flight study featuring an Airbus A350 flying with 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel has shown that SAF can reduce the warming effect of aircraft contrails.

A350 flight test aircraft followed by DLR chase plane during ECLIF3 flight campaign - Airbus

SAF’s main environmental credentials are its lower CO2 emissions compared to traditional jet fuel, as it is produced from sustainable sources such as biomass rather than fossil fuels. However, the new ECLIF3 study – carried out by Airbus, Rolls-Royce, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and SAF producer Neste – has now demonstrated that SAF can also reduce the soot particles produced when flying. This in turn hampers the formation of contrail ice crystals, reducing their climate-warming impact.

According to the study, the 100 per cent SAF blend led to a 56 per cent reduction in the volume of contrail ice crystals produced compared to Jet A-1 fuel. Climate model simulations produced by DLR found that this should correspond to at least a 26 per cent reduction in the contrails’ climate impact.

“We already knew that sustainable aviation fuels could reduce the carbon footprint of aviation,” said Mark Bentall, head of Research & Technology Programme, Airbus.

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