Airbus Leads PACIFIC Project on Contrail, Non-CO2 Impact

• The PACIFIC (Particle emissions, Air Quality and Climate Impact related to Fuel Composition and Engine Cycle) consortium gathering 11 partners from four countries has answered the Horizon Europe call for proposal on Accelerating climate neutral aviation, minimising non-CO₂ emissions.
• The PACIFIC project will investigate the impact of fuel composition and engine cycle on particle emissions, from laboratory tests to full-scale aircraft ground testing.
• The project, funded by the European Union, started in January 2025 and will last until June 2028 with the aim of improving modelling and prediction capabilities to better assess contrail formation and the broader climate impact of aviation.
• The results will support future fuel specifications and policy recommendations to minimise the environmental footprint of aviation.

Airbus, within a consortium of 10 partners from four European countries, has launched PACIFIC, a project to study the impact of aviation's non-CO₂ emissions on Local Air Quality and Climate with a focus on contrails. Recent studies suggest that the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) could reduce both soot particles and contrail ice crystals. However, additional information on fuel composition and its processing in the engine is necessary to better understand the effects and benefits of SAF.

PACIFIC (Particle emissions, Air Quality and Climate Impact related to Fuel Composition and Engine Cycle) seeks to bridge the gap in understanding aviation's non-CO₂ emissions by testing an unprecedented range of fuels under controlled conditions. The project will ensure consistency in combustion parameters and hardware similarity from lab-scale experiments at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to full aircraft engine tests at Airbus Toulouse.

The research will focus on understanding how soot forms during fuel combustion, using improved prediction tools to better anticipate its presence in engine emissions. It will also analyse the quantity of fine particles released at different engine power levels, refining methods to estimate their impact from ground tests to real flight conditions. Another key aspect is assessing how these particles contribute to ice crystal formation, a major factor in contrail development, using advanced measurement techniques. Finally, the project will evaluate the broader climate effects of these emissions by examining how different fuel compositions and engine settings influence contrail formation and properties, and their impact on global warming.

By consolidating these insights, PACIFIC will contribute to a robust cost-benefit assessment of various fuel options, providing crucial inputs for potential future fuel-related regulations. The project will ultimately help define new fuel specifications aimed at reducing aviation's climate and air quality impact while reinforcing Europe's leadership in sustainable aeronautics.

Airbus Chief Technology Officer Sabine Klauke says, "Addressing aviation's non-CO2 emissions is critical in our journey toward truly sustainable flight. Through collaborative science-based approaches and innovative technologies, we're committed to minimising these effects while maintaining operational efficiency. The PACIFIC project will quantify and measure the non-CO2 emissions emitted from various SAF compositions. Using an innovative ground experiment process, we will be able to replicate conditions without delay and repeat them if needed. We look forward to the results of this multi-year project."

Project Partners:

4 industry key-players:

• AIRBUS - France (coordinator)
• ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND LTD & CO KG - RRDE, Germany
• NESTE OYJ - NESTE, Finland
• ROLLS-ROYCE PLC - RRUK, UK

1 research and technology organisation:

• DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FÜR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV - DLR, Germany

4 universities:

• JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITY MAINZ - JGU, Germany
• HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO - UHEL, Finland
• THE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY - MMU, UK
• THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD - USFD, UK

1 SME:

• ERDYN CONSULTANTS SAS - Erdyn, France

Project Facts: