Overview
FlyingGreen is a comprehensive sustainability initiative launched by EUROCONTROL and managed by the Aviation Sustainability Unit. It provides a one-stop shop platform to support States, ANSPs, airports and other aviation stakeholders in reducing their environmental impact. FlyingGreen is structured around four strategic pillars, with the NetZero pillar focusing on reducing emissions and tracking fuel burn at various operational levels — from the Network down to individual states, ANSPs or airports.
The NetZero pillar offers a user-friendly dashboard that enables monitoring and forecasting of emissions based on operational improvements, fleet renewal and traffic growth scenarios. This centralised platform integrates operational radar data (Correlated Position reports for a Flight – CPF), forecast data (STATFOR) and EUROCONTROL’s AEM tool to provide accurate estimations of fuel burn and CO₂ emissions. NetZero provide options to view data at different levels (network, state, FAB, ANSP, airport) and customise the analysis based on specific stakeholder requirements.
FlyingGreen/NetZero addresses several critical challenges in the aviation sector, including:
- Emission Reduction: The need to reduce CO2 emissions to meet net-zero targets.
- Fuel Transition: Transitioning to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and other alternative energy sources.
- Operational Efficiency: Improving operational efficiency to reduce fuel burn and emissions.
- Data Utilisation: Leveraging comprehensive data for accurate emission tracking and forecasting.
Concerning Data Processing, NetZero includes:
- Trajectories: Using actual radar tracks (CPF) to create detailed trajectory segments. CPF is an airspace profile following as much as possible the actual flown trajectory derived from ATC surveillance systems (CPR).
- Forecasting: Incorporating medium and long-term forecasts to predict future emissions and fuel burn.
- Aircraft Evolution and Revolution Tool: Replacing older aircraft with improved fuel efficiency, and options to introduce zero-emission models such as hydrogen and electric aircraft in the forecasts via What-If functionality. This is complemented by AZIP, which evaluates the ground infrastructure, electrical grid impact, physical land requirements, and capital investment needed at airports to support these new electric and hydrogen aircraft.
- Advanced Emission Modelling: Utilising the EUROCONTROL AEM tool to calculate fuel burn and emissions accurately.
FlyingGreen - NetZero page (from webpage)
NetZero can be seen as a comprehensive toolkit for decarbonisation efforts that includes:
- Fuel Burn and Emission: Detailed graphs and charts showing current and forecasted emissions and fuel consumption.
- Filter options: Selection of flight types (departures, arrivals, internal and overflights), specific flight phases, or market segment.
- What-If Scenarios: Tools to model the impact of different operational improvements per flight phase together with fleet renewals and evolutions on emissions.
- Cost Analysis: Simplified cost analysis for additional environmental costs related to fuel, ETS and CORSIA.
- Airport Infrastructure Planning (AZIP): Indicative modelling of airport energy and infrastructure requirements for future electric and hydrogen aircraft, including capital and operating costs.
Provider
FlyingGreen is provided by EUROCONTROL Aviation Sustainability Unit.
Limitations
Where traffic or trajectory data are incomplete, for example for some ground movements, NetZero’s estimated fuel burn and emissions may omit part of the activity. Results should be interpreted with this data coverage in mind.
Economic indicators are indicative and depend on simplified modelling assumptions. Users can adjust some cost inputs, but the results should not be treated as airline-specific financial forecasts.
Future Developments
Further releases of NetZero will contain the following changes:
- Further refinements to the existing operational what-if options, allowing users to tailor these improvements based on flight phases or operational concepts.
- Planned enhancements to environmental-cost analysis may provide a more detailed breakdown by market segment and explore potential effects on ticket prices and demand.
The team is actively working on incorporating user feedback to optimise the platform. This includes improving the performance and usability of the tool based on user experiences and suggestions.