The aviation sector is looking to reduce its carbon footprint. Artificial intelligence (AI) is now recognized as an essential tool for transforming this industry. It improves operational efficiency and helps reduce the environmental impacts of aircraft emissions.
Contributing to around 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, aviation is looking for solutions to reduce its environmental impact. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to optimize flight paths, improve air traffic management and make maintenance more predictive. These advances allow a reduction in fuel consumption, thus leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Several airlines are already using AI-based flight management systems, which has significantly reduced their fuel consumption.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to reduce the climate impact of condensation trails produced by airplanes. These form at very high altitudes when the water vapor emitted by aircraft engines condenses. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in regions where the air is already in a state of oversaturation, thus promoting the appearance of these trails visible as thin white lines in the sky. According to the IPCC 2022 report, they represent around 35% of the global climate impact of aviation, or more than half of the impact of kerosene used worldwide.
To address this problem, Google Research, in collaboration with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy, has developed predictive trail maps using massive data, including satellite images, weather information, and flight path data. These predictive maps allow pilots to choose routes that avoid areas that could form trails. During a six-month test phase, American Airlines pilots completed 70 flights using these AI predictions, reducing trail formation by 54%.
This project also brought to light a compromise: although routes optimized to avoid drag actually reduced their formation, they resulted in a 2% increase in fuel consumption. However, the analysis revealed that only a small portion of the flights would have to be modified to avoid the majority of the warming effects of the trails, making this method potentially effective and economically viable to reduce climate impact on a larger scale.
The integration of artificial intelligence in the aviation sector allows it to take a new flight towards a more responsible and sustainable future. Google's work is part of a larger effort to use AI to address pressing climate challenges and demonstrates the potential for advanced technological solutions to help reduce environmental impacts in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize. This is not only a technological victory but also a strong commitment to reducing the ecological footprint of these sectors.
Marie
AI consultant
marie.wald@strat37.com
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