The AWAIRE project tackled a critical climate challenge at wastewater treatment plants: accurately quantifying nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, a greenhouse gas with 273 times more warming potential than CO₂ and responsible for up to 78% of a plant’s operational carbon footprint.
Led by Explicit and funded by the Danish Environmental Technology Development Program (MUDP), the team successfully adapted Explicit’s drone-based Drone Flux Measurement (DFM) technology – originally developed for methane detection – to quantify N₂O emissions with high precision.
During extensive field surveys at BIOFOS Avedøre, the DFM method demonstrated consistency with established measurement techniques while overcoming limitations of methods that rely on indirect calculations. Comparative testing showed DFM measurements aligned well within expected measurement uncertainty ranges.
In April 2025, Explicit’s N₂O measurement method received accreditation under DS/EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, validating its reliability. This technique can enable treatment plant operators to pinpoint emission hotspots, validate continuous monitoring systems, and implement targeted reduction strategies.
Get the full AWAIRE project report.
