SESAR JU partners are making strides in advancing wake energy retrieval (WER) under the GEESE project, an industrial research initiative exploring how aircraft can optimise fuel efficiency by flying in formation, similar to migrating geese. The project aims to enable and scale WER operations across Europe and transatlantic routes, reducing fuel consumption and emissions by capturing energy from wake vortices.

To achieve this, GEESE is defining operational tasks for pilots and developing technologies such as new flight management system functions and a cockpit interface for wake tracking. Additionally, a ‘pairing assistance’ tool is being tested to help airline operations centres identify and coordinate aircraft capable of flying in WER formation. Airlines including Air France, French Bee, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic are participating in simulations to validate pairing procedures.

Since its launch in June 2023, the Airbus-led project has gained momentum, successfully passing its first yearly review with SESAR JU in April 2024. Key milestones include a real-time simulation dry-run by Indra-Oro Navigacija and stakeholder discussions led by Airbus and NATS with UK and Canadian aviation authorities.

Looking ahead, 2025 will be pivotal for GEESE, with a series of validation activities planned. These include simulations, shadow mode sessions, and data analyses to assess the feasibility of new procedures and their impact on air traffic management, safety, and cost. Critical upcoming events include a tabletop exercise on March 4-5 to evaluate the pairing assistant tool and real-time air traffic control simulations in late March and early April in Spain and France.

As the project progresses, the results will provide crucial insights into making WER a viable and scalable solution for more sustainable aviation, supporting SESAR JU’s Digital European Sky ambitions and more broadly the EU’s climate objectives.

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