Bjarni Örn Kristinsson

Bjarni Örn Kristinsson is a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics whose research evaluates aviation energy carriers beyond sustainable aviation fuel and liquid hydrogen. Aviation is a hard-to-abate sector. Aircraft remain in service for decades, making near-term energy choices consequential for emissions trajectories. He develops a rigorous screening framework to down select attractive energy carriers by analyzing chemical traits, first-principles thermodynamic modeling, and aircraft performance impact. Bjarni has built a global end-to-end systems model for renewable liquid methane, integrating spatial datasets of waste residues at 10-kilometer resolution with country-specific techno-economic analysis across 4,000 commercial airports globally. The envisioned system couples anaerobic digestion with the Sabatier reaction to quantify methane availability, supply chain costs, and lifecycle emissions. As a MathWorks Fellow, Bjarni will extend this modular framework to evaluate alternative energy carriers. His research could inform long-term aviation energy choices by evaluating alternative carriers on a consistent, system-level basis.