Call: Proyecto de colaboración público-privada, del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027 financiado por MICIU/AEI/10.130339/501100011033 | Project duration: 2026-2029
Project CPP2024-011627 funded by:
The project is a collaboration between Applied Innovative Methods (AI Methods) and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M).
AI Methods is a spin-off from UC3M established in 2022, with the aim of transitioning mature R&D to industry applications. The start-up specializes in deploying artificial intelligence (AI) models for real-time weather forecasting and maintains strong connections within the European air traffic management (ATM) community. UC3M contributes leading-edge research in climate science, air navigation, and artificial intelligence, forming a robust partnership to address aviation’s climate challenges.
The Contrail Aware project will advance state-of-the-art research on contrails into a practical industry solution. By leveraging space-based data, meteorological data, aircraft trajectory data, and artificial intelligence, the project will provide real-time forecasting, detection, and radiative forcing (RF) estimation of contrails, significantly improving assessment and mitigation strategies.
Project phases
- Prototype Development: Using UC3M’s research outcomes, this phase will develop a functional prototype to effectively showcase the technology’s capabilities to relevant stakeholders.
- Real-Time Data Validation and AI Optimization: Utilizing real-time satellite and aircraft trajectory data, this phase leverages AI Methods’ technology to provide dynamic monitoring and refine AI models for enhanced detection and prediction capabilities.
- MVP Creation and Industry Adoption: The final phase integrates these advancements into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), enabling real-world demonstrations, incorporating stakeholder feedback, and developing a strong commercialization roadmap.
Contrail Aware will empower airlines, air navigation service providers, and policymakers with actionable insights to reduce persistent contrails by up to 80%, potentially cutting aviation’s climate impact by 50%, or 1 – 2% of global warming. These advancements contribute significantly to the EU’s 2030 and 2050 climate goals, addressing both environmental and economic priorities.
Operational concept of Contrail Aware system
