E-CONTRAIL Project Closure: Advancing the Science of Contrails

The E-CONTRAIL project concluded on 30 November 2025, after two years and a half of intense research since its launch in June 2023. We are extremely proud of the progress made in advancing the understanding of contrails and aviation-induced cloudiness, a major and still uncertain contributor to aviation’s non-CO₂ climate impact.

Throughout the project, the consortium produced advanced AI detection tools, radiative forcing evaluations, and predictive models. These are key contributions that meaningfully expand the scientific evidence needed to guide climate-aligned aviation policy. The community can access to the publications and the open-source libraries linked to them, the visualization dashboard and the policy brief.

These achievements were possible thanks to the commitment of all partners — UC3M, BIRA, RMI and KTH — and to the support of our Project Officers and the SESAR Joint Undertaking. We warmly thank them for making this effort possible.

While much has been accomplished, there is still important work ahead. We remain committed to advancing science in this area and sincerely hope that a continuation of E-CONTRAIL project will become a reality soon, continuing the path toward a more climate-resilient aviation sector.