UrbanAIR at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory: Extending horizons in Climate and Air Quality Research to Serve Cities
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
Across Europe, urban planners are facing a dual challenge: rising air pollution and increasing heat stress. To combat this, the UrbanAIR project is harnessing the power of a "Digital Twin of the Earth."
By combining data from the European Space Agency - ESA and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts - ECMWF into the Destination Earth (DestinE) portfolio, UrbanAIR is creating a tool that turns complex science into a life-saving urban strategy.
From Global Data to Local Impact
The STFC project team (part of UKRI) is the "connective tissue" of this project. By enabling seamless data sharing on the DestinE Data Lake, we are helping city leaders model real-world scenarios, such as:
Implementing Clean Air Zones
Planning new housing developments
Evaluating alternative travel options
Assessing the impact on green and grey infrastructure
Success in Antwerp and Beyond
STFC has already completed a proof of concept for Antwerp, with initial demonstrators showing wind flow around the city with colour-coded visualisations, based on DAFNI’s models, workflow and data management, plus an urban air quality demo, and a green potential demonstrator.
Barcelona, Rotterdam, Paris, and Bristol will be modelled over the coming year. The team will work with city leaders, planners and other stakeholders to ensure that the modelling and scenarios are adapted for each city, to accommodate varying data availability and region-specific requirements.
DAFNI: Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure in the UK, is part of the STFC’s (Science and Technology Facilities Councils) world-class research programme under the UK government’s UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) initiative (UKRI).
A Hub for Innovation: The Harwell Meeting
In November 2025, DAFNI and STFC welcomed 18 UrbanAIR partners at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Following a productive session at Imperial College London, colleagues from TU Delft, the lead institution of the project, and partners from across Europe gathered at Harwell Campus to strengthen our international partnership.
The day was designed to showcase the cutting-edge work taking place at Harwell and highlight the pivotal role of the DAFNI platform.
The agenda included:
Earth Observation insights from RAL Space, presented by Michelle Hamilton, Earth Observation Lead.
An introduction to the UrbanAIR project by Professor Femke Vossepoel, the project's scientific coordinator from Delft University of Technology.
An overview of the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) by Wendy Garland, Senior Environmental Data Scientist.
Tours of the Satellite Integration and Testing facilities, where guests experienced the innovative PufferSphere display
A tour of the Central Laser Facility and a DAFNI platform presentation by Bethan Perkins, DAFNI Group Lead, which offered a closer look at world-class research infrastructure.
This event celebrated the collaborative spirit of UrbanAIR and showcased Harwell Campus’s role as a hub for innovation and international partnership.
Contact info@dafni.ac.uk to find out more.
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