Zero-Emission Next-Gen Innovation and Technology Integration for Aviation

Achieving international climate goals requires evidence-based decisions on emerging technologies, fuel supply chains, infrastructure readiness, air transport operations, and regulatory instruments. A comprehensive pre-implementation assessment is therefore essential not only to quantify potential climate/environmental benefits but also to anticipate the operational implications of integrating next-generation fleets, which introduce new performance characteristics, infrastructure needs, and regulatory adaptations that will reshape airport operations, airspace management, and traffic flows. However, the current state of the literature and scientific understanding remains insufficient to support such analysis. Critical gaps exist in the detailed characterization of evolutionary and revolutionary (E/R) aircraft performance (e.g. range and payload limitations, altered climb/descent and cruise profiles, and wake behavior), emissions and their associated environmental impacts, and system-level evaluations of how mixed fleets, combining E/R aircraft, can operate seamlessly within the air transport system. This gap poses a significant risk of misdirecting policy incentives and could undermine global efforts to achieve climate neutrality. ZENITIA’s objectives, aligned with the call, are to: Develop high-fidelity models to estimate dynamical performance, emissions, and environmental impacts (CO2, non-CO2, air quality) of E/R aircraft; Develop optimization frameworks for planning safe, efficient, and environmentally aligned gate-to-gate operations of mixed fleets; Develop an AI-driven decision-support platform for real-time quantification of stakeholder-relevant indicators (e.g. environmental) and evaluation of future pathways; Translate scientific and operational findings into regulatory, infrastructural, and policy guidance, delivering actionable pathways for the seamless integration of next-generation aircraft and supporting Europe’s transition to climate-neutral aviation.