London Gatwick Airport in the UK is to serve as a testbed for liquid hydrogen ground storage and refuelling infrastructure being built by Airbus.
Gatwick Airport is joining Airbus’ Hydrogen Hubs at Airports program, which is developing and testing the infrastructure that will be used by the “ZEROe” hydrogen fuel-cell powered aircraft the European aircraft manufacturer is developing and wants to be flying by 2035.
The Gatwick project will trial equipment and processes for liquid hydrogen supply and storage, as well as the refueling and ground handling of hydrogen aircraft. It will also explore any other, short-term opportunities for using hydrogen at the airport.
Airbus’ ZEROe program is initially developing hydrogen-fuelled aircraft suitable for short and medium haul routes. London Gatwick is the airport that handles most of these types of routes in the UK.
Other partners in the Gatwick project include airline easyJet, which will provide “operational insight as a short haul carrier” for the infrastructure testing, and hydrogen supplier Air Products.
Glenn Llewellyn, vice president of ZEROe at Airbus said, “We’ve set ambitious targets to fly on hydrogen by 2035 and this technology needs to be supported by reliable and tested infrastructure.
“Sharing knowledge and best practice at airports will be critical for building the right hydrogen ecosystem around the world. We look forward to working with all consortium members to develop the support for the technology and end-to-end hydrogen supply chain that will power future flight.”
Stewart Wingate, CEO at London Gatwick said, “Hydrogen has real potential to help us decarbonize Scope 3 emissions at the airport, particularly for the short haul aircraft that dominate London Gatwick’s operations.
David Morgan, chief operating officer at easyJet said, “The Gatwick hub is another positive signal and demonstrates the industry’s intent to both adapt and work together to reach the common goal of decarbonising aviation. I do not doubt that projects like this will act as the building blocks to prepare UK airports for a hydrogen transition.”
Suzanne Lowe, vice president and general manager, UK, Ireland, Israel and Italy at Air Products said, “The Hydrogen Hubs at Airports framework is an important milestone in paving the way for sustainable aviation.
“We look forward to collaborating with our partners and government leaders on this project and to unlock further investments in renewable hydrogen. These include our plans for a large-scale renewable hydrogen facility in Immingham, UK.”
Airbus’ Hydrogen Hubs at Airports program was launched in 2020 and now involves airports, hydrogen companies and aircraft operators in 13 countries.
