CAELESTIS Project Wrap-Up: Accelerating the Future of Climate-Neutral Aviation

As the CAELESTIS project draws to a close after 42 months of tireless innovation, we look back at everything achieved by this dynamic Horizon Europe collaboration—and show you where to find all our results and insights for the future.

Photograph of the CAELESTIS team on a tour of AIMEN in Spain during the project Kick-Off Meeting on 9th May 2022, standing in front of a robot arm designed for manufacturing

The CAELESTIS Consortium at the CAELESTIS Final Event

Reaching Climate-Neutral Aviation through Virtual Prototyping

Launched in May 2022 and funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme (managed by CINEA), CAELESTIS set out to transform how Europe designs and manufactures aircraft. Our core ambition? Develop and deploy ground-breaking digital thread and digital twin technologies that accelerate the path toward climate-neutral aviation by 2050.

By pioneering a hyperconnected simulation ecosystem, CAELESTIS radically improved how we design, simulate, and build lightweight, efficient aircraft—reducing costs, risks, and time-to-market for the industry’s greenest innovations yet.

What We Achieved

Connected Design & Manufacturing: Built an interoperable digital thread linking design, simulation, engineering, and manufacturing for next-gen airframes and engine structures.

Advanced Digital Twins: Enabled simulation-driven, real-time quality assurance and the optimization of aerostructures and manufacturing processes.

High-Performance Computing (HPC): Harnessed HPC and AI to predict, detect, and manage uncertainties in manufacturing workflows.

Open Innovation: Created a collaborative ecosystem involving 11 partners across 8 EU countries, uniting expertise from aeronautics, supercomputing, additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, and more.

Environmental Impact: Laid out the path for aircraft with up to 30% lower fuel burn and CO₂ emissions, directly contributing to the European Green Deal and jobs in digital aviation.

Key Project Facts

Duration: May 2022 – October 2025 (42 months)

Funding: Horizon Europe, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)

Consortium: 11 partners from 8 EU countries

Where to Find CAELESTIS Results

Our commitment to open science means all major outputs—science, software, and dissemination—remain accessible to everyone:

Explore publications, datasets, deliverables, and software from CAELESTIS at our open-access Zenodo collection

Watch highlights, presentations, and explainer videos on our CAELESTIS YouTube channel

Connect with our project’s LinkedIn Page and explore our community!

Thank You and Stay Connected

We gratefully thank our consortium partners, supporters, and the European research community for making CAELESTIS an outstanding success! Our digital legacy—from open-access datasets to summary videos—remains available for innovators, researchers, and aviation professionals across the EU and beyond.

Follow our channels and explore our Zenodo community to keep up with the breakthroughs and legacy of CAELESTIS.

Adopting new generations of sustainable aircraft starts with innovation—keep the CAELESTIS vision alive!