Articles | Volume 26, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13485-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13485-2026
Research article
 | 
25 Sep 2026
Research article |  | 25 Sep 2026

Climate impact of contrail cirrus from hydrogen combustion aircraft

Susanne M. Pettersson, Christian Azar, and Daniel J. A. Johansson

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Cited articles

Adler, E. J. and Martins, J. R.: Hydrogen-powered aircraft: Fundamental concepts, key technologies, and environmental impacts, Prog. Aerosp. Sci., 141, 100922, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2023.100922, 2023. a
Akhtar Martínez, C., Eastham, S. D., and Jarrett, J. P.: Zero-dimensional contrail models could underpredict lifetime optical depth, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 12875–12891, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-12875-2025, 2025. a, b
Bier, A. and Burkhardt, U.: Variability in contrail ice nucleation and its dependence on soot number emissions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 3384–3400, 2019. a
Bier, A., Unterstrasser, S., Zink, J., Hillenbrand, D., Jurkat-Witschas, T., and Lottermoser, A.: Contrail formation on ambient aerosol particles for aircraft with hydrogen combustion: a box model trajectory study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2319–2344, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2319-2024, 2024. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Borrmann, S., Kunkel, D., Weigel, R., Minikin, A., Deshler, T., Wilson, J. C., Curtius, J., Volk, C. M., Homan, C. D., Ulanovsky, A., Ravegnani, F., Viciani, S., Shur, G. N., Belyaev, G. V., Law, K. S., and Cairo, F.: Aerosols in the tropical and subtropical UT/LS: in-situ measurements of submicron particle abundance and volatility, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 5573–5592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-5573-2010, 2010. a
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Short summary
Hydrogen-combustion aircraft could reduce aviation’s climate impact by eliminating carbon dioxide emissions and, in most cases, forming less warming cloud cover than jet-fuel aircraft. We used climate and aircraft modelling to study how these clouds form when soot is replaced by other particles, especially lubrication oil. The results suggest that hydrogen aircraft could be cleaner, but this depends partly on engine designs that limit lubrication oil emissions.
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