Aircraft regulatory standards, or aircraft certification requirements with associated stringency levels, are among the set of mechanisms that can be used to incentivize CO₂ emissions reductions from commercial aviation. Setting such standards requires the definition and identification of a metric (e.g., gCO₂/km, gCO₂/(kg*km)), correlating parameter, stringency level, and scope of applicability (i.e., type of aircraft, reference missions, fuel mix). Project 30 seeks to develop robust metrics that objectively and accurately reflect CO₂ emissions at the aircraft and fleet levels.

OBJECTIVES

• Identify robust metrics, correlating parameters, and evaluation options that objectively and accurately reflect CO₂ emissions at the aircraft and fleet levels.
• Inform the national and international policy processes with regard to the development of an aircraft certification requirement by (1) identifying a set of metrics and correlation parameters that could be used as a basis for the aircraft certification requirement, (2) evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of each metric and correlation parameter, (3) examining the ways in which each metric would be measured in a certification standard, and (4) providing a comprehensive assessment to policy makers.

KEY RESULTS TO DATE

A small set of leading aircraft CO₂ emissions metrics, together with correlating parameters and evaluation options, has been identified.

Study results have been provided to the FAA to inform CAEP in its decision making process on developing an international CO₂ standard.

COORDINATION/COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PARTNER PROJECTS

Project 14, Environmental Design Space

PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology

LEAD INVESTIGATORS

Ian Waitz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, iaw@mit.edu
Dimitri Mavris, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, dimitri.mavris@ae.gatech.edu

PROJECT MANAGER

Laszlo Windhoffer, laszlo.windhoffer@faa.gov

PUBLICATIONS

• CO₂ Emission Metrics for Commercial Aircraft Certification: A National Airspace System Perspective. A PARTNER Project 30 Findings Report. Jose Bernardo, Bryan Boling, Philippe A. Bonnefoy, Graham Burdette, R. John Hansman, Michelle Kirby, Dongwook Lim, Dimitri Mavris, Aleksandra Mozdzanowska, Taewoo Nam, Holger Pfaender, Ian A. Waitz, Brian Yutko. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2012-002 Download (pdf 3M)
• Assessment of CO₂ Emission Metrics for a Commercial Aircraft Certification Requirement, Philippe A. Bonnefoy, Graham Burdette, Thomas Carroll, R. John Hansman, James Hileman, Steven Isley, Michelle Kirby, Dongwook Lim, Dimitri Mavris, Aleksandra Mozdzanowska, Taewoo Nam, Sheldon Smith, Robert Taylor, Ian A. Waitz, Robert Willett, J. Scott Wilson, Brian Yutko. A PARTNER Project 30 interim report. December 2010. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2011-002. Download (pdf 6.7M)
• FAA/PARTNER, “FAA/PARTNER Project 30 Metric Recommendation – for an aircraft CO₂ standard,” CAEP/9_WG3_CO₂-3_WP06, International Civil Organization (ICAO), Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), Working Group 3, Geneva, Switzerland, September 2010
• FAA/PARTNER,“Sensitivity of Aircraft Fuel Intensity to Typical Operational Patterns: To Inform Evaluation Options of a CO₂ Standard,” CAEP9_WG3_CO₂-2_WP14, International Civil Organization (ICAO), Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), Working Group 3, Florence, Italy, June 2010.
• FAA/PARTNER, “Assessment of CO₂ Emission Metrics and Correlation Parameters,” CAEP9_WG3_CO₂-2_WP21, International Civil Organization (ICAO), Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), Working Group 3, Florence, Italy, June 2010.
• FAA/PARTNER, “Assessment of CO₂ Emission Metrics for Commercial Aircraft Certification and Fleet Presentations Performance Monitoring,” CAEP/9 WG3-1 CO₂TG-1, International Civil Organization (ICAO), Working Group 3, Atlanta, March 2010.
• FAA/PARTNER, “Issue paper for CAEP Steering Group Meeting,” June 22nd 2009 FAA/PARTNER, “Contribution to CAEP WG3 scoping analysis report,” September 2009
• Nam T., Kirby M., Burdette G., Lim D., Isley S., Bonnefoy P., Hansman R. J., Hileman J., Waitz I., Yutko B., “An Investigation of the Potential Implications of a CO₂ Emission Metric on Future Aircraft Designs,” International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), Nice, France, Sept. 2010.

Project 30 is funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.