Objective
REDUCT seeks to advance Europe’s environmental assessment tools for understanding and mitigating the climate impact of aviation, with a special focus on contrail formation and its integration into Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. The project directly addresses SESAR’s exploratory research priority FR-1, which seeks a deeper understanding of the ATM system’s impact on climate change. The ultimate goal is to enable more climate-friendly aviation by improving understanding of contrail formation, persistence, and mitigation, while balancing environmental benefits with operational performance.
Contrails—formed by ice crystals from aircraft exhaust—can evolve into cirrus clouds that trap heat, producing short-lived but significant warming. Their total climate effect may equal or exceed aviation’s CO2 emissions. Targeted rerouting and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) could reduce contrail-related warming by up to 60% with minimal additional CO2 emissions.
The project’s technical objectives are:
- Improving prediction and impact assessment of contrails, accounting for humidity, cloud evolution, and embedded contrails.
- Incorporating effects and uncertainties from new fuels and aircraft types.
- Analysing environmental-performance trade-offs in ATM mitigation measures.
- Supporting informed operational decision-making to minimise climate impact.
REDUCT leverages advanced numerical weather prediction, machine learning, and uncertainty modelling to guide climate-sensitive flight planning. It also addresses the challenge of communicating complex findings through clear visualisations and stakeholder engagement, ensuring practical adoption across Europe’s densely trafficked airspace.
By advancing contrail forecasting, operational feasibility studies, and climate-optimised ATM strategies, REDUCT provides one of the most immediate, cost-effective levers for reducing aviation’s short-term climate impact, fully aligned with SESAR’s climate research priorities.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering aircraft
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
- social sciences social geography transport transport planning air traffic management
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
51147 KOLN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.