(Paris) – Airbus SAS, Air Liquide SA and Vinci Airports want to promote the use of hydrogen at airports and expand the European airport network for future hydrogen aircraft. The French airport Lyon-Saint Exupéry, the competence center for innovation of the airport operator Vinci Airports (France), serves as the location for a pilot project now underway and consisting of three phases.
Accordingly, a hydrogen filling station is to be built on the site from 2023, which will supply both the airport's ground vehicles such as buses and trucks as well as the Airbus and Air Liquide vehicles operating there. This first phase is important “to test the facilities and dynamics of the airport as a hydrogen hub,” says Airbus.
In the years up to 2030, the infrastructure will be built that will make it possible to supply aircraft with liquid hydrogen. In addition, it is being examined to what extent Vinci Airports' European airport network should be equipped with the necessary systems for the production, storage and supply of hydrogen for use on the ground and on board aircraft. The infrastructure for the production and distribution of liquid hydrogen at the airport will then be created.
According to the companies' joint assessment, this project is "an important step for the development of hydrogen in the entire airport ecosystem" and for the decarbonization of air traffic. It draws on Airbus' know-how in commercial aircraft, Air Liquide's expertise in mastering the entire hydrogen value chain such as production, liquefaction, storage and distribution, and the global expertise of Vinci Airports, the 45 airports in twelve countries, around half of which are outside Europe.
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“AirbusZEROe turbofan” concept. © Airbus
