Nexus Lab: Using AI and Satellite Data to Tackle Aviation’s Hidden Climate Threat

EcoAero had the opportunity to speak with Omar Nuruzade and Gular Ismayilova, co-founders of Nexus Lab, a French startup leading a quiet revolution in aviation sustainability. Founded in 2022 by a group of engineering students, Nexus Lab is tackling one of the least understood—but most impactful—climate issues in aviation: contrails. 

While much of the aviation world is focused on alternative fuels and electric aircraft, Nexus Lab has chosen a different flight path—one that doesn’t require redesigning planes or reengineering jet engines. Instead, their focus is on smarter decision-making powered by data, satellite technology, and artificial intelligence. 

Contrails—the white streaks that trail behind aircraft, discussed in EcoAero’s previous interview with Dr. Sebastian Eastham—are often mistaken for harmless vapor. In reality, they can trap heat in the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that, in some cases, exceeds the warming impact of carbon dioxide. These artificial cirrus clouds are responsible for an estimated 20–50% of aviation’s total climate impact, making them a substantial but under-addressed contributor to global warming. Unlike carbon emissions, contrails aren’t exhaust gases – they’re formed when water vapor condenses around engine soot in cold, humid upper-atmosphere conditions. The complexity of their formation have made them difficult to predict and even harder to regulate. Until now. 

Nexus Lab’s solution doesn’t involve hardware retrofits or operational overhauls. Their flagship product is a software platform that predicts when and where contrails are likely to form. The system integrates satellite imagery, aircraft performance data, and meteorological models to generate high-resolution risk maps for flight planners. 

“It’s like turbulence forecasting,” explained Omar, the company’s CEO. “We give flight dispatchers the information they need before takeoff. A small change in altitude, even just a few thousand feet, can often prevent contrail formation altogether.” 

Nexus Lab’s software is tailored to specific aircraft models and continually improves through post-flight data analysis. Because it integrates seamlessly with existing flight planning tools and requires no modifications to aircraft systems, it offers a rare combination of scalability, accuracy, and ease of adoption. 

At the heart of Nexus Lab’s platform is a proprietary AI model trained on more than two years of satellite-detected contrail data. This data has been cross-referenced with historical flight paths and weather conditions to predict contrail formation with a high degree of confidence. 

The startup has navigated aviation’s cautious approach to AI by focusing on decision support rather than automation. Pilots retain full control—Nexus Lab simply enhances their situational awareness. “We’re not flying the aircraft,” said Omar. “We’re just helping the people who do make more informed choices.” 

What began as a research project in university has since gained international traction. However, one of the biggest challenges Nexus Lab faces is an economical one. Adjusting a flight path to avoid contrails may slightly increase fuel consumption. In an industry where 

margins are razor-thin, even a 1% increase in fuel burn can be a deterrent, especially when contrail avoidance isn’t yet part of most emissions reporting frameworks. 

Still, this landscape is shifting. As international regulators begin to consider aviation’s non-CO₂ effects, Nexus Lab believes early adopters, driven by regulation, environmental commitments, or public pressure, will lead the way. 

While contrails are Nexus Lab’s current focus, the company sees itself evolving into a broader research and development hub for sustainable aviation. They’re already exploring additional satellite-based applications and other software-driven solutions to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint. “We don’t want to be defined by one problem,” said Omar. “We want to become Europe’s leading software-based R&D engine for sustainable aviation.” 

In an industry focused on long-term hardware solutions that may take decades to deploy, Nexus Lab offers an immediate, high-impact alternative: smarter flight planning powered by real-time insights. As global air traffic climbs, the urgency to address contrails is only growing. With its unique blend of science, software, and sustainability, Nexus Lab is quietly reshaping aviation’s role in the climate conversation. By helping the industry see the sky more clearly—both literally and figuratively—they are charting a greener course for the future of flight. 

At EcoAero, our mission is to spotlight technologies that challenge conventional thinking and accelerate the aviation industry’s shift toward sustainability. Nexus Lab exemplifies this mission—not by redesigning aircraft, but by rethinking how we fly them. By leveraging data, satellite imaging, and artificial intelligence to reduce contrail formation, they offer a scalable, low-barrier solution to one of aviation’s most overlooked climate impacts. As we continue to feature innovations that create measurable environmental benefits, EcoAero is proud to support companies like Nexus Lab that are redefining aviation’s climate responsibility through smarter software and scientific foresight.