Background
FROM NETWORK TO ASSOCIATION
For over 5 years ECATS has been a European Network of Excellence for research into the impact of air transport on the environment. ECATS is the acronym for Environmentally Compatible Air Transport System.
The high-level aim of ECATS is to help making aviation sustainable and thus foster the European Union’s overall environmental goals for aeronautics. With initial funding from the European Commission, ECATS’ role from the beginning has been to create and coordinate the work of a closely-knit network of experts across the continent. The network has impressive resources at its disposal for research into aviation and the environment.
As a scientifically sound and internationally competitive research structure, it is ideally qualified to achieve its objective. By providing in-depth integration of the expertise available across Europe, ECATS also greatly improves the competitiveness of the European aeronautics community.
After 5 years of joint research and exploring closer collaboration, the ECATS Network of Excellence has now been transformed into the ECATS International Association, officially registered as of 2 November 2010 by [Royal Decree] of Belgium.
