Emirates has become an industrial partner of the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA), based at the University of Cambridge. The new partnership marks the first $200 million investment from the Emirates Sustainability Fund for research and development (R&D) projects focused on reducing the impact of fossil fuels on commercial aviation.
The partnership aims to foster collaboration, provide evidence from a suite of AIA climate impact tools, support advances in its data modeling work, and actively participate in future projects dedicated to reducing global aviation emissions.
The AIA initiative is co-led by the Whittle Laboratory and the Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) at the University of Cambridge. It is an international group of multidisciplinary experts who develop evidence-based systems, modeling capabilities, visualizations and specialized tools to support policy makers, the aviation industry and the general public with the knowledge necessary to map, understand and accelerate the paths towards sustainable aviation.
Emirates joins Boeing, Rolls-Royce, The Royal Air Force, IATA, 4Air and Flexjet as industrial partners. The AIA modeling capability is a collaboration between the Bennett Innovation Lab (a new innovation lab created as part of the New Whittle Laboratory) and CISL, with the aim of finding ways to accelerate net zero aviation.
Sir Tim Clark, Chairman of Emirates Airline, said: “Emirates is proud to support the Aviation Impact Accelerator as the first project of our Sustainability Fund. As an industry partner, we have a unique opportunity to play an active role in constructively sharing our knowledge and perspectives, expanding the AIA's reach across geographies and supporting the development of tools that address a spectrum of new aviation technologies and their implications. critical gaps if implemented in the future. “The work being carried out by the Aviation Impact Accelerator provides the potential blueprint for the changes and solutions underway to reduce the long-term climate impact of commercial aviation.”
Professor Rob Miller FREng, Director of the Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge and AIA Leader, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Emirates, which will support us in our mission to accelerate the world towards net zero aviation. Airlines will play a crucial role in the sector's transition and we are delighted that Emirates is demonstrating this leadership. “We believe that the Sustainability Fund will be essential to unlock actions in the sector.”
Emirates will explore possible collaboration on a number of tools under development, including:
RECCE: Climate Resource Comparison Evaluator is designed to enable industry to quickly compare the potential of a wide range of fuels and technologies in 2035. It allows the user to compare CO 2 and all non-CO 2 climate impacts of aviation. resource requirements and costs, and provides a detailed breakdown of where in the system the uncertainties lie. The tool also allows the user to understand the impact of the pace of decarbonization of neighboring sectors, such as the electrical grid or heating, on aviation. RECCE is available free of charge on the AIA website.
JIST – Journey Impact Simulator tool, is currently in development and allows users to explore how they might fly in the future, helping them understand pathways to net zero aviation. The future potential of fuel and propulsion technology and the configuration of flight operations can be adjusted to compare climate impact.
CRAFT: Climate Response to Future Aviation Scenarios Tool allows users to analyze future scenarios, exploring how they could use combinations of technologies, fuels and changes in operations to achieve net zero aviation. The tool is especially powerful for real-time exploration of scenarios in interactive policy workshops, allowing government and industry leaders to chart their way through the complexities of the aviation sector. The tool has been used to drive several policy workshops with the US, UK and EU governments.
The partnership with the AIA will allow Emirates to participate in workshops exploring all aspects of net zero aviation, designed to identify opportunities to accelerate action.
The Emirates Sustainability Fund aims to support research and development (R&D) projects focused on reducing the impact of fossil fuels on commercial aviation. The funds will be disbursed over three years to globally recognized organizations, startups and academic institutions working on and contributing to solutions in advanced fuel, energy and propulsion technologies and other emissions reduction solutions. The airline works with technical experts to evaluate opportunities and disbursements are managed by Emirates' Environmental Sustainability Executive Steering Group.