In a quietly powerful move, Copenhagen Airport and its partners have initiated a study that could subtly reshape the future of aviation fuel use. The project—FuelTrack—marks the first real-world campaign to create a scientifically validated dataset linking jet fuel properties with actual aircraft emissions. It is a technical study, yes—but its implications for cleaner skies, smarter regulation, and local air quality are profound.
The Challenge of Jet Fuel Variability
Jet fuel has long been treated as a standardized product, governed by specification limits that ensure safety and performance. Yet, even within these standards, variations exist—differences in aromatics, sulphur content, and other properties. Until now, the exact influence of these properties on aircraft emissions in daily airport operations remained largely speculative.
This is not a minor oversight. Aircraft emissions on the ground contribute directly to airport-adjacent air quality, impacting local communities, airport staff, and operational sustainability goals. FuelTrack confronts this gap in knowledge with precision and scientific rigor.
What FuelTrack Aims to Achieve
FuelTrack is not just another emissions study. It is a live, operational measurement campaign that tracks:
- Real-time aircraft emissions during taxi operations
- Detailed fuel samples from both aircraft tanks and airport fuel systems
- Flight data across multiple aircraft types
- Fuel property variation from different sourcing airports
By linking these data streams, the study establishes a direct correlation between fuel composition and emitted pollutants like NOx, particulate matter, and unburnt hydrocarbons.
A Window Into Real-World Operations
Dr. Benedict Enderle of the German Aerospace Center describes the dataset as “unique.” This is no exaggeration. Laboratory tests can only go so far. The true test is performance in live, unscripted operations where dozens of variables interplay—ambient temperature, engine type, aircraft age, taxi duration.
FuelTrack’s findings will inform cleaner engine tuning, optimized fuel blending, and new emissions policies rooted not in estimates, but evidence.
Local Air Quality—A Hidden Incentive
One of the more subtle but vital insights from FuelTrack is its relevance to local air quality programs. As Peter Wiboe Holm of Copenhagen Airport highlights, most aircraft are refueled elsewhere. That means the emissions on the ground in Copenhagen often result from fuel purchased in a different country.
By understanding how those upstream variations affect emissions downstream, airports can better target air quality programs—not just by pushing airlines toward SAF adoption, but by advocating for upstream improvements and transparency in fuel sourcing.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Opportunity and Complexity
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is no silver bullet. As its usage increases under mandates like ReFuelEU, its variability will also increase. Depending on feedstock and production process, SAF can behave differently in combustion, creating a new spectrum of emissions profiles.
FuelTrack provides a framework to study and respond to these changes. Rather than viewing SAF as a binary cleaner fuel, the study encourages an optimization mindset: Which SAF blends perform best under which operational conditions? How can we maximize benefit per tonne?
Tools and Technology Behind the Study
The measurement campaign is equipped with:
- A mobile emissions lab from DLR for apron-side monitoring
- State-of-the-art fuel sampling methods for high granularity
- Aircraft type segmentation to map how engine models respond to different fuels
The goal is not to assign blame or reward to specific operators, but to enable sector-wide learning and iteration.
Strategic Impacts
FuelTrack is poised to influence:
- Future jet fuel standards, focusing on compositional performance
- SAF blend evaluations, helping identify optimal combinations
- Airport emissions strategies, informed by real-time, on-site data
- Regulatory design, including ETS, CORSIA, and air quality frameworks
The data will support cleaner fuels that go beyond carbon intensity to consider pollutants that directly affect human health and environmental integrity.
Conclusion: Data for Smarter Decisions
FuelTrack does not promise instant transformation. But in its methodical, collaborative design, it offers a new kind of visibility—one that turns assumptions into data, and data into strategy.
As the aviation sector embraces decarbonization, the subtle shift toward real-time, operational emissions science will empower regulators, airports, and fuel producers to make smarter, cleaner choices.