{"id":109724,"date":"2025-02-25T19:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T19:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/exploring-hydrogen-fuels-potential-for-gse\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T19:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T19:46:09","slug":"exploring-hydrogen-fuels-potential-for-gse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=109724","title":{"rendered":"Exploring hydrogen fuel’s potential for\u00a0GSE"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hydrogen fuel is expected to play a significant role in decarbonising flights in the coming decades, but its uses can also stretch to airport operations, particularly Ground Support Equipment (GSE).\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there are still many unknowns in terms of timescales, James Cox, public affairs manager at Bristol Airport in the UK, believes hydrogen aviation will come in two main phases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He forecasts that we\u2019ll see the early, smaller regional aircraft powered by gaseous hydrogen in this decade, followed by the deployment of large wide-bodied airliners in the mid-2030s, which is expected to require liquid hydrogen.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure challenges for GSE<\/h2>\n

While progress continues on hydrogen-powered aircraft, equally important is the work being undertaken at ground level to develop the infrastructure required to support zero-emission flights.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest infrastructure changes will be the need to store fuel on-site. During the early introduction of hydrogen operations, the key infrastructure required will be gaseous hydrogen storage and refuelling equipment.<\/p>\n

This may be done either in a fixed location or by using mobile refuelling vehicles. In low-demand situations on-site electrolysis may be viable, says Ian Sutherland, senior project manager of energy transition and hydrogen at US-based international engineering services company Jacobs, but in most cases, it\u2019s anticipated that hydrogen will be sourced from an external supply.<\/p>\n

As demand increases, liquid hydrogen will be introduced, which will require additional infrastructure in the form of supply, storage, and potentially liquefaction capability.<\/p>\n

Project Acorn<\/h2>\n

\u201cExperience of handling and refuelling with hydrogen in an airside environment is low, and while many of the required regulations are in place in the UK, we lack practical experience,\u201d says Cox.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, last year Bristol Airport hosted\u00a0Project Acorn<\/a>, which was the UK\u2019s first airside hydrogen refuelling trial in a commercial airport.<\/p>\n

The project was conducted with partners including easyJet, Cranfield University, DHL Supply Chain, and Jacobs. By refuelling ground support equipment (GSE), Project Acorn demonstrated that hydrogen gas can be safely and reliably used in a busy, live airport environment.<\/p>\n

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Experience of handling and refuelling with hydrogen in an airside environment is\u00a0low.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a compressed time window for the aviation industry to develop the ground infrastructure, safety standards, and operational procedures needed to make the sector\u2019s operations hydrogen-ready,\u201d says Cox.<\/p>\n

\u201cProject Acorn was designed to be a first step on this journey, with limited trials of GSE accomplishing a key objective of receiving clearance for airside refuelling from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which played an active role in the trial as an independent reviewer of the safety case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partners used the outputs of the trial to help develop industry best practice standards, providing guidance to airports, airlines, local authorities and regulators on required infrastructure changes, and support the development of a regulatory framework for hydrogen\u2019s use on an airfield.<\/p>\n

The Hydrogen in Aviation partnership<\/h2>\n

Bristol Airport is a member of Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA), a partnership that brings together leading organisations across the value chain from airlines and airports to manufacturers and energy producers.<\/p>\n

Together, they\u2019re recommending the development of \u2018hydrogen pioneer airports\u2019 in the UK: a network that can serve as a testing ground for accelerating hydrogen-powered flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAreas of focus would include standardisation and filling the remaining regulatory gaps,\u201d says Cox, \u201cultimately, hosting early hydrogen flights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bristol Airport also supported the creation of\u00a0Hydrogen South West<\/a>, a cross-sector consortium that\u2019s working to create a hydrogen ecosystem across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will help develop the necessary production and transportation infrastructure we\u2019ll need in the long term. We don\u2019t feel we can passively sit back and wait for this to happen \u2013 we need to be clear now what our future demand requirements will be, given the long lead times of this infrastructure,\u201d Cox adds.<\/p>\n

Hydrogen fuel projects a-plenty<\/h2>\n

Many proactive organisations are working to accelerate the introduction of hydrogen-powered aviation. Jacobs, for example, who worked on Project Acorn, has been involved in several government-funded research projects, and most recently completed a hydrogen aviation transition plan for the Connected Places Catapult.<\/p>\n

Other airports are also pushing forward, including Glasgow Airport, whose Hydrogen Innovation Hub consortium is working to get the airport ready for zero-emission flights by 2027. A key part of its work is to create a blueprint hydrogen hub that could be replicated not only by AGS Airports\u2019 Aberdeen and Southampton sites but by other airports around the world.<\/p>\n

The UK isn\u2019t alone in taking steps to embrace hydrogen aviation. An international example comes from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), which is pivoting from a transportation-only facility to an energy and transportation hub \u201cwith a focus on how we fit into the aviation ecosystem,\u201d explains Chad Willis, director of planning, environmental, and sustainability at PIT.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with several partners to build out on-site hydrogen production, becoming one of the few airports in the world to produce sustainable aviation fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chicken and egg issue<\/h2>\n

There is one issue, however, which could be slowing down infrastructure development. This is hydrogen\u2019s \u2018chicken and egg\u2019 issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot fully embrace hydrogen use, as supply is costly and limited. However, the high cost of production facilities requires offtakes. Both ends of the equation need attention,\u201d says Willis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s demand but no supply, and vice versa,\u201d Cox continues. \u201cWe need other sectors who will use hydrogen in considerable amounts long before aviation does, to lead the development of generation and movement infrastructure. We\u2019re supporting that through Hydrogen South West.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both agree that governments also have a key role in supporting the aviation industry with this large-scale change.<\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t think that the government has clocked the massive private investment that will be required by airports in the 2030.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere are currently few incentives for building the required infrastructure, and as such, deployment will be slow,\u201d says Willis. \u201cAdditional government support would be welcomed as airports revenues are limited and this infrastructure could be costly at a larger scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that the government has clocked the massive private investment that will be required by airports in 2030,\u201d Cox agrees. \u201cWe\u2019ll want to see a supportive, stable policy environment to enable that investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it may be too early for many airports to invest in significant hydrogen infrastructure, Chris Pickard, director of sustainable aviation at Jacobs, believes it\u2019s hugely important that they still take steps now to safeguard for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsideration should be given within airport master plans and land use strategies,\u201d he notes. \u201cAs the timeline for the introduction of hydrogen-powered aircraft becomes clearer, this safeguarding will allow airports to respond to the demand and be ready to accommodate these aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published in our digital magazine\u00a0<\/em>Airport Industry Review<\/a>. You can\u00a0subscribe here<\/a>\u00a0for free.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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