Flight tests to demonstrate the effectiveness of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help prevent contrail formation on certain routes will kick off in early 2026 through a new UK-backed project involving Rolls-Royce and British Airways.
Called QRITOS, the initiative was revealed on 4 November as one of the three initial projects funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) through its Non-CO2 programme.
Unveiling the projects’ selection at its annual conference in Newport, South Wales, ATI chief executive Gary Elliott says they will “reduce uncertainty in the fundamental science and deliver technology solutions to which will mitiagte or prevent non-CO2 emissions during flight.”
While the carbon-reduction benefits of SAF are well documented, studies have also shown the fuel’s potential to reduce the formation of contrails, which also have a strong impact on global warming.
QRITOS, also involving Imperial College London and Heathrow Airport, will attempt to demonstrate that the targeted deployment of SAF – only on those flights where there is a high likelihood that contrails will be produced – is a better use of what remains a scarce resource.
It will, says Alan Newby, director of research and technology at Rolls-Royce, help airlines to “maximise the bang for their buck” from SAF-powered operations.
“In theory it is quite simple, but first you need to work out which flights and then how to allocate your fuel,” he tells FlightGlobal.
Carrie Harris, BA director of sustainability, says the current plan calls for two weeks of test flights during the first quarter of 2026, with learnings from that phase supporting a second two-week campaign at the back end of the year.
BA already knows the routes that are most prone to contrail formation, says Harris, although declines to reveal detail at this stage.
“CO2 is well understood and there is an effective path across the whole sector to tackle it, but that is not the case for non-CO2 and options to mitigate it are still being debated,” she says.
“By using SAF there is an opportunity to get a double-whammy win out of it – we are trying to verify that theory.”
Both short- and long-haul flights be studied, with the work not reliant on an aircraft involved being equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. Initial logistical set-up work is already underway, she says.
Data from the flight trials will be combined with advanced modelling and satellite observations from Imperial College to monitor contrail formation following the targeted SAF usage.
Imperial College is hopeful the tests will allow it to develop predictive tools and a means of performing near real-time assessment “of the effectiveness of targeted SAF deployment for contrail warming reduction,” says Sebastian Eastham, associate Professor in Sustainable Aviation at Imperial College.
QRITOS will run until April 2027, and includes the initial set-up, testing and analysis. Air bp will provide SAF technical expertise to the project team.
Two additional projects, led by Airbus and OXCCU, will also receive funding under the ATI’s Non-CO2 programme. In total, it is contributing £5.9 million of the combined £9.98 million costs.
Airbus and Rolls-Royce are already working together as part of an EU-funded consortium to study contrail production.
