On 26 October, OLGA participated in the NACO Sustainable Aviation Summit 2023, alongside its sister projects STARGATE, TULIPS, and ALIGHT. The purpose of the event was to stimulate conversation and action towards a sustainable future for aviation. On this occasion, OLGA presented some of its key innovations on air quality, circularity, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The project also co-facilitated a high-level workshop on improving air quality at airports.
The event turned the spotlight on the innovations developed by the four EU-funded projects, focused on three thematic areas: air quality, circularity, and SAF. Some examples: TULIPS project is defining a standardised approach to measuring ultrafine particle (UFP) levels in the airport environment and determining the effect of various UFP mitigation strategies. STARGATE project is testing and developing a set of solutions to improve the local environment and living quality, such as the digitalisation of air cargo, which leads to less waiting time for trucks, less congestion, and less impact on the environment. ALIGHT project is carrying out a 3-week SAF measurement campaign at Copenhagen Airport, the first of its kind under operational settings, and which is meant to show how flying on SAF-blend may have a positive effect on local air quality.
As for the OLGA project, Ayce Celikel, President of ENVISA, the partner in charge of OLGA work package on cross-cutting aspects (emissions and air quality assessment), shared with the audience several innovations generated by the project. In terms of air quality, OLGA is creating a 24/7-enabled SaaS platform (Emissions and Air Quality Pollutants Modelling and Monitoring) and decision-making dashboard. The platform will allow to calculation of overall emissions and resulting concentrations, which can be used as a tool to connect the improvements from OLGA innovations for assessing some of their combined impacts in terms of air quality and trade-offs. The first prototype will be ready by the 1st quarter of 2024.
In terms of circularity, OLGA is developing a proof of concept (PoC) for food waste reduction. This PoC will provide a deposit system for reusable and/or washable flatware with the purpose of reducing single-use plastic, improving waste sorting, and converting waste into resources. A feasibility study is currently being carried out and the implementation of the PoC is foreseen for the 1st quarter of 2024.
With regards to SAF, OLGA is working on a PoC for SAF traceability along the value chain, using blockchain. The aim is to trace and ease information on the SAF origin and sustainable attributes to all actors of the value chain while ensuring data integrity and trust. The tool is now in its validation phase for the final tuning before the release into the market.
Moreover, OLGA co-facilitated the workshop on air quality at airports. This workshop addressed different challenges, such as tracing air pollutants from airports and SAF while maintaining local air quality, as well as continuous ultra fine particle monitoring for air quality management at airports based on studying the impact of SAF, standardising UFP measurement and mitigation solutions.
OLGA, together with TULIPS, STARGATE, and ALIGHT, are providing innovative solutions that improve the air quality at airports, and ultimately shape a sustainable future for aviation.