Airbus has partnered with London Gatwick Airport, low-cost airline easyJet, and hydrogen supplier Air Products to develop hydrogen capabilities and infrastructure for the UK’s aviation industry.
The partnership comes under Airbus’ Hydrogen Hubs at Airports programme and will see Gatwick used as a testbed for R&D on hydrogen infrastructure, continuing Airbus’ work to prepare the industry for the widespread use of hydrogen aircraft as part of its ZEROe project.
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Airbus’ hydrogen hubs programme includes agreements with airports and industry partners from 13 countries, including the US, Singapore, and Germany working alongside ZEROe towards launching hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035.
Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus’ vice president of the ZEROe project, 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 and we look forward to working with all consortium members to develop the support for the technology.”
The inclusion of easyJet furthers the airline’s relationship with the manufacturer, and the work in Gatwick will be conducted alongside the existing partnership with Hydrogen South West to develop hydrogen infrastructure in South West England.
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By GlobalDataEasyJet has already shown leadership in the UK’s use of hydrogen for aviation operations, after supporting the country’s first airside hydrogen trial at Bristol Airport earlier this year as part of the Hydrogen in Aviation group.
David Morgan, easyJet COO, said: “Hydrogen is going to play an important role in decarbonising aviation so we need to lay the groundwork now to make that happen.
“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.”
News of the partnership comes after the publication of a study calling on the industry to accelerate its development of zero-emission aircraft by the International Council on Clean Transportation.
The study claimed that based on expected lifetime emissions of the current global fleet and incoming planes, the industry would need to move to only producing zero-emission aircraft by 2035 if it wanted to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the global standard.
