The UK’s gateway to the North, Manchester Airport is on track to become the first UK air transport hub to secure a direct supply of hydrogen fuel for its airline partners from the mid-2030s. The airport has teamed up with HyNet – one of the UK’s leading Government-backed industrial decarbonisation projects on the direct hydrogen fuel pipeline project.
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director, Manchester Airport commented: “By securing a direct supply of hydrogen for our airport, our 60 airlines will be able to make use of this exciting and ground-breaking technology as soon as possible.”
HyNet’s two founding partners, Progressive Energy, which develops projects to decarbonise the energy sector, and Cadent, which will build and operate HyNet’s hydrogen pipeline network, are aiming to deliver hydrogen to the aviation sector at the earliest opportunity.
With hydrogen expected to play a key role in decarbonising the sector, hydrogen-powered aircraft are expected to come into operation from the mid-2030s for short-haul journeys. One study involving Manchester Airports Group (MAG) and conducted by FlyZero estimates that demand for liquid hydrogen at a similar sized airport to Manchester could be 6.5 million litres a day by 2050.
Commenting further Woodroofe added: “The partnership between Manchester Airport and HyNet is a significant step forward for the future use of hydrogen across the North West, building a more sustainable future for the region.
“The use of hydrogen will make a significant contribution to the UK aviation sector’s decarbonisation efforts and supports industry partners in reaching net zero.”
Aviation Minister, Baroness Vere also noted that while hydrogen offers great potential to decarbonise flying, “we need the right infrastructure at our airports to harness that opportunity.”
This latest collaboration to help decarbonise operations at Manchester Airport comes a year after MAG announced its partnership with Fulcrum BioEnergy UK, to provide the air transport hub with a direct supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the mid-2030s.
The combination of a direct SAF and hydrogen supply lays the foundations for airlines to operate low and zero emission flights from the airport in the future. In addition, Manchester is working with Progressive Energy on how its own onsite infrastructure can be adapted to deliver this technology into reality.
Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK said: “Airport infrastructure for hydrogen will be vital to enabling zero emission aircraft to operate, so we welcome today’s announcement by Manchester Airport and HyNet, and look forward to working with other UK airports on similar projects. Collaboration across UK aviation and aerospace is the only way we will hit net zero, and as airlines we remain committed to playing our full part in this shared endeavour.”
Header image: Left to right – Chris Manson Whitton, CEO, Progressive Energy, Helen Boyle, Head of Regional Development, Cadent, Adam Baddeley, Head of Industrial Hydrogen, Progressive Energy, Henri Murison, Chief Executive, Northern Powerhouse Partnership and Adam Freeman, Head of ESG and Environmental Strategy, MAG
