New Renewable Fuel to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Space Launches

Project Overview

RELANES is a Spanish R&D project focused on the development of innovative renewable fuels to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with space launch activities. The project aims to advance the environmental sustainability of space transportation by exploring alternative fuel solutions that can reduce the carbon footprint of launch operations while meeting the demanding technical and performance requirements of the space sector.

Arribes’ Contribution

Life Cycle Assessment and Development of Space-Specific LCA Tools

Arribes contributes to RELANES through its expertise in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), environmental sustainability and the development of dedicated LCA tools for space applications.

Its activities focus on assessing the environmental impacts of the proposed renewable fuel solutions throughout their life cycle, considering relevant stages such as raw material sourcing, fuel production, distribution and use in launch operations.

As part of the project, Arribes develops a dedicated LCA tool specifically tailored to the space sector, incorporating methodologies and datasets relevant to launch systems and propulsion technologies. The tool supports the assessment and comparison of alternative fuel pathways with conventional solutions, identifying environmental benefits, trade-offs and opportunities for improvement.

This approach ensures that reductions in direct emissions are evaluated alongside impacts occurring across the broader fuel supply chain.

Supporting Sustainable Space Transportation

Arribes’ work contributes to integrating environmental considerations into the development and evaluation of new propulsion fuel solutions, supporting evidence-based decisions and the transition towards more sustainable space transportation.

Beyond the assessment of renewable fuels, the development of a dedicated space-specific LCA tool provides a foundation for broader environmental assessments of space systems and missions, facilitating the integration of sustainability criteria into engineering and design decisions.

The project strengthens Arribes’ capabilities in space-specific LCA methodologies, environmental modelling and software development.

In summary, the project addresses:

Sustainable Space Launches: Development of innovative renewable fuels to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from space transportation.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Arribes evaluates the environmental footprint of alternative fuels across their life cycle, from production to launch operations.
Environmental Performance & Ecodesign: Identification of environmental benefits, trade-offs and improvement opportunities to support more sustainable launch systems.

Project Support

ARRIBES ENLIGHTMENT, S.L. participa como entidad beneficiaria en el proyecto RELANES (EXP 00169637 / PTEP-20241016), desarrollado en el marco del Programa Tecnológico Espacial 2024 y vinculado al PERTE Aeroespacial. Proyecto subvencionado por el CDTI, con el apoyo del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, en el marco del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, y financiado por la Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU.