Selection of Current Projects

The Institute of Air Transport is part of or leads pioneering research projects that shape the future of air traffic. Examples include DEPA 2070, which forecasts development paths up to 2070 and analyses impacts on the air traffic system, as well as VMo4Orte, which elaborates solutions for traffic transformation. The Clean Aviation Impact Monitor determines the ecological and socio-economic impacts of aircraft innovations. D-KULT demonstrates eco-efficient flight trajectories to minimise the climate impact in European and German airspace.

Discover more about our projects!

Long-term Development Paths in Passenger Aviation

DEPA 2070

The DEPA 2070 project, conducted by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), examines the future development of passenger aviation up to the year 2070. The focus is on the analysis of trends, the development of aviation scenarios, and the evaluation of innovative technologies and their impacts on the environment, economy, and society.

Flight Safety of Small Aircraft under Adverse Meteorological Conditions

SMART-MET

The SMART-MET project explores various aspects of flight safety for small aircraft under challenging weather conditions, including the analysis of historical meteorological data. One aim is to develop an availability atlas that geographically and temporally maps potential weather risks to enable safe flight corridors.

QC Mobility

The project “Quantum Computing & Mobility” (QCMobility) is one of the projects from the DLR Quantum Computing Initiative and is led by the Institute for Quantum Technologies. DLR Institute of Air Transport is is concerned with the applicability of quantum technologies for flight planning processes.

Leveraging Weather and Climate Data for Greener Flight Trajectories

F4EClim

The F4EClim project (Flying ATM for Environment Climate) is developing advanced methods to reduce the climate impact of air traffic. Using weather forecasts and climate research, CO₂ emissions, contrails, and other non-CO₂ emissions are to be considered during flight planning. The goal is to optimise flight trajectories so that they are both ecologically and economically efficient, contributing to climate-compatible aviation.

THOR

The "THOR" (Towards Zero Emission Airports) project, led by the Institute for Flight Guidance, aims to develop ways of reducing airport energy consumption, reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency.

BECOM

BeCoM pursues the goal of making it possible to avoid contrails under the condition of low secondary effects.

D-KULT

The D-KULT project (demonstrator climate and environmentally friendly air transport) aims to provide evidence of the feasibility of eco-efficient flight trajectories, considering non-CO2 emissions in European and especially in German airspace. Flights should be planned in such a way, that their trajectories are optimized with regard to reduced climate impact in a suitable defined climate metric

MEASURE

In the MEASURE project, the testing of a remotely controlled and programmed drone for measuring volcanic ash and radioactivity in the immediate vicinity of the release location shows ways of how such an in-situ measuring system can be used operationally for environmental monitoring and contribute to maintaining safety in airspace.

SMARTS - Smart Sectors

The SESAR3 ER research project Smart Sectors (SMARTS) deals with airspace design and combines the process of Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) with air traffic flow measures

ISLAND

ISLAND project is following the line of research which started in 2016 as 2 projects of: PJ08 the follow up previous SESAR project of “PJ08: Advanced Airspace Management” and “PJ09 Advanced Demand Capacity Balancing”.

Clean Sky Technology Evaluator

The Clean Sky 2 (CS2) Technology Evaluator (TE) is an essential part of the European aeronautical research program Clean Sky 2. In this program within 6 large Technology Demonstrators environmentally friendly technologies for the next generation of aircraft and rotorcraft are developed and validated.

VERTIFIED

The VERTIFIED (Vertiport Research Infrastructure for Innovation Exploration and Demonstration) project is the next step towards the safe introduction of air taxis and the necessary infrastructure in urban and regional areas.

EmissionslandKarte

Within the 3-years impulse project EmissionsLandKarte (ELK) DLR is funding the establishment and improvement of expertise in the modelling of gaseous and particle emissions and noise pollution for traffic and energy production on global, national and local scope.

ALIGHT

ALIGHT (a Lighthouse for the introduction of sustainable aviation solutions for the future) is a Horizon Europe project running from November 2020 to October 2025 led by Copenhagen Airport, with a focus upon infrastructure for sustainable aviation fuel and renewable energy sources for ground activities. The DLR Institute of Air Transport supports the project by providing a cost-benefit analysis of different use cases of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), e.g. using SAF for flights with the highest non-CO2 climate impact in order to maximize the benefits of a limited quantity of SAF.