Groupe ADP and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have joined forces in a research project designed to tackle airport sustainability issues.
The research work will be conducted within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department (CEE) of UC Berkeley, a world leader in civil and environmental engineering research. This partnership will also enable both sides to explore other aspects of the future of air travel, such as urban air mobility and electric aircraft.
The Groupe ADP and UC Berkeley project will be conducted by the university’s Airport Design Studio, the specialized lab dedicated to airport research within the CEE, and will be steered by Fiona Greer under the supervision of Dr Jasenka Rakas, head of the lab.
The partnership will enable students to fully assess the utilization of efficient air conditioning and heating devices over auxiliary power units by airlines when aircraft are at the gate, and through that, to analyse the implications for airport infrastructure and policies in the development of future airports.
The study will include a case study of Groupe ADP’s Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports. It will also help to understand the impact of airports and planes on the ground in terms of their contribution to global warming.
This project echoes Groupe ADP’s sustainability commitments, especially its plans to compensate 100% of its residual carbon emissions by 2030 for the Parisian airports and to reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050. The research will also help benefit the 24 airports the Groupe manages around the world.