Greening European ATM's ground infrastructure: What could ANSPs achieve over the next decade?

The latest Eurocontrol Think Paper #13 published today argues that there is considerable potential to ‘green’ the ground infrastructure of European air traffic management over the next decade.

Eurocontrol has conducted the very first assessment of the extent of this infrastructure, which includes well over 6,000 communications, navigation and surveillance ground-based facilities across Europe, as well as over 400 control towers, over 60 area control centres, and various offices. After modelling the total predicted energy consumption of this infrastructure, we then calculate the CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions that would be produced as a result.

Eurocontrol's research suggests that if air navigation service providers could make the switch to renewable energy, and seize the right moment over the next decade in their investment cycles to replace energy-inefficient equipment, over 311K tonnes CO₂e could be saved on an annual basis, summing up to a sizeable 6.2+ million tonnes by 2050.

Progressively decarbonising European ATM’s ground infrastructure is, we argue, both realistic and achievable, and could deliver large potential emissions savings on an annual basis in support of aviation’s overall decarbonisation goals.

Download the Think Paper here: Greening European ATM’s ground infrastructure: What could ANSPs achieve over the next decade?