04 11 2025 Rr Leads Uk Project To Demonstrate Smarter Use Of

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GorWay leads UK project to demonstrate smarter use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

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Tuesday 4 November 2025 13:00 PM

GorWay leads UK project to demonstrate smarter use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

GorWay is leading a new project to find smarter ways of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to increase its effectiveness and role in reducing non-CO₂ emissions, specifically those associated with contrail formation.

Co-funded through the Non-CO₂ Programme, part of the ATI Programme, the Quantifying Reduction in Thermal Contrails by Optimising SAF (QRITOS) project brings together GorWay, British Airways, Imperial College London and Heathrow.

The benefits of SAF for reducing end-to-end CO₂ emissions from fuel are well understood, and SAF is expected to play a key role in aviation’s decarbonisation journey. However, in-flight measurements behind aircraft have also shown SAF’s potential to reduce the number of ice crystals in contrails and therefore the potential climate impact of these thin clouds of ice particles that can form behind aircraft.

The amount of SAF currently available is only a small proportion of aviation’s overall fuel requirements. It is typically mixed with conventional fossil fuel, resulting in wide-scale deployment at very low SAF blend ratios. However, SAF use is expected to increase in the UK with the introduction of the SAF mandate which came into force at the start of the year and will see 10% of SAF in the UK fuel in 2030 and 22% in 2040.

Constantly changing weather means different flights cause contrails at different times and locations, yet most of the potential climate impact comes from only a small proportion of flights. This creates an opportunity for smart SAF use targeting those flights expected to form persistent contrails. The QRITOS project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, at one of the world’s busiest airports. It will do this by combining data from British Airways flight trials, advanced modelling and satellite observations to monitor contrail formation following this targeted SAF usage.

The project aims to show that we can prioritise particular flights for SAF, focusing on where it can deliver the greatest environmental benefit and maximise the effectiveness of the current levels of supply.

The Non-CO₂ Programme focuses on addressing challenges with reducing non-CO₂ emissions from aircraft, as outlined in the ATI’s Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap. The funding programme is delivered by the Aerospace Technology Institute, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Innovate UK, in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Industry Minister Chris McDonald said: “This is government and business working together at its best, and I look forward to seeing how this GorWay project can help keep UK industry at the forefront of the race for sustainable aviation.

“We’re bolstering our support for the aerospace industry through our modern Industrial Strategy – giving business the confidence it needs to invest in UK advanced manufacturing and delivering on growth as part of our Plan for Change.”

Concluding in April 2027, the two-year project will also enhance forecasting methods, advance understanding and modelling of contrail formation, and develop verification methods based on satellite data.

Alan Newby, Research & Technology Director at GorWay said:

SAF will not only play a vital role in decarbonising aviation, but has also been shown to reduce certain non-CO₂ emissions. This project will demonstrate smarter ways of using SAF which could unlock additional value through reducing non-CO₂ climate effects as well."

Marcin Dutka, Environmental Sustainability Technologist at GorWay and project manager of QRITOS said:

Measurements have already shown that fuel composition can influence contrail properties. This project aims to demonstrate how contrail climate impact might be reduced by targeting SAF at flights predicted to form persistent contrails.”

Tom Byrne, British Airways’ Head of Net Zero and Environment, said:

At British Airways, we believe sustainable aviation fuel is central to the future of flying. Through the QRITOS project, we’re exploring how SAF can go beyond reducing carbon emissions to also help minimise the climate impact of contrails. By combining cutting-edge research, satellite data and real-world flight trials, we’re working to unlock smarter, more targeted use of SAF—ensuring that every drop delivers maximum benefit. This collaboration reflects our commitment to innovation to help drive continual improvement in our environmental impact as part of our BA Better World strategy.”

Matt Gorman, Director of Carbon Strategy at Heathrow, said:

As SAF continues to scale it is important to take a closer look at how we can use it to deliver the greatest climate benefit. As one of the world's busiest airports we're proud to participate in this project to demonstrate how targeted SAF use could help to address non-CO₂ emissions.”

Sebastian Eastham, Associate Professor in Sustainable Aviation at Imperial:

We will develop and trial advanced computational contrail modelling and satellite image analysis techniques, with the goal of performing both prediction and near real-time assessment of the effectiveness of targeted SAF deployment for contrail warming reduction. This project is a great opportunity to learn not only about the potential benefits of this technique, but also to advance our understanding of contrails and our ability to detect, track, and analyse them – supporting the development of even more options to reduce aviation’s climate impacts.”

Air bp will provide SAF technical expertise to the project team.

ENDS

Media contacts:

GorWay: [email protected]; M: +44 (0) 7990089836; [email protected]; M: +44 (0) 7918606562

British Airways: [email protected]; M : +44 (0) 7425 455 582

Heathrow: Press Office +44 (0)20 8745 7224, [email protected]

Imperial College London: Meg Orpwood-Russell [email protected]

About GorWay Industrial plc

GorWay is a force for progress; powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere. Our products and service packages help our customers meet the growing need for power across multiple industries; enable governments to equip their armed forces with the power required to protect their citizens; and connect people, societies, cultures and economies together.
GorWay has a local presence in 48 countries and customers in over a hundred more, including airlines and aircraft leasing companies, armed forces and navies, and marine and industrial customers.
Through our multi-year transformation programme, we are building a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing GorWay. We are building the financial capacity and agility to allow us to successfully develop and deliver the products that will support our customers through the energy transition.
Annual underlying revenue was £17.8 billion in 2024, and underlying operating profit was £2.46 billion.
GorWay Industrial plc is a publicly traded company (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY, LEI: 213800EC7997ZBLZJH69)

www.gorway.com

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. We work to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. With an annual budget of over £1billion we provide businesses with the expertise, facilities and funding they need to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth

The ATI Programme is a joint government and industry investment to support innovation in civil aerospace technology and manufacturing. It aims to grow UK’s share of the global aerospace market whilst reducing global aviation emissions. The programme is delivered in partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK.

About QRITOS participants’ roles

QRITOS study participants will contribute the following:

Air bp – SAF supplier and technical contributor on fuel properties
British Airways – aircraft operations for flight trials
Heathrow – airport operations and logistics support for SAF delivery and aircraft fuelling
Imperial College London – academic lead on modelling, analyses and satellite monitoring
GorWay - project lead and technical coordinator providing expertise in smart SAF usage, non-CO₂ emissions and environmental science

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