In line with plans to have its hydrogen powered aircraft flying by 2035, Airbus has teamed up with easyJet, London Gatwick and the world’s largest hydrogen supplier, Air Products, to expand hydrogen capability and the infrastructure required to support hydrogen fuelling in the UK.
Airbus’s ‘Hydrogen Hub at Airports’ programme has already seen agreements signed with partners and airports in 13 countries, including Canada, Italy, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan , the US and Sweden. London Gatwick was cited as an ideal partner to join the hub thanks to its position as a leading airport for short to medium haul flight routes, such as those served by low-cost carrier easyJet, which will be the focus initially for early hydrogen-powered aircraft. According to Airbus, it therefore makes a prime location for R&D into critical support infrastructure.
Setting up the right infrastructure is key to enabling hydrogen flight and under Airbus’ Hydrogen Hubs at Airports framework, the scope of work will cover liquid hydrogen supply and storage at the London hub, as well as refuelling and ground handling of hydrogen aircraft. The project will also explore other opportunities for hydrogen use at the airport.
Commenting on the collaboration, Airbus VP ZEROe Project, Glenn Llewellyn said: “Our licence to operate hinges on finding better ways to fly. We know hydrogen has the versatility to be an excellent fuel source for decarbonising the industry. We’ve set ambitious targets to fly on hydrogen by 2035 and this technology needs to be supported by reliable and tested infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, London Gatwick’s CEO, Stewart Wingate, added: “Alongside Sustainable Aviation Fuels, hydrogen stands out as having real potential to help us decarbonise Scope 3 emissions at the airport, particularly for the short haul aircraft that dominate London Gatwick’s operations. In parallel, we’ve accelerated our plans aim to be net zero for the emissions we control – Scope 1 and 2 – ten years early, by 2030.”
David Morgan, CEO, easyJet, added his support for the collaboration noting that projects like this are key building blocks to prepare UK airports for a hydrogen transition – “something that will be critical to achieving our net zero ambitions.”
