Airports must make significant capital investments in hydrogen storage and refuelling infrastructure soon if the aviation sector is to decarbonise, according to a new report by consultancy Jacobs.

Battery technologies will not work for long-haul flights, and gaseous hydrogen is unsuitable for technical and safety reasons, leaving liquid hydrogen as the best way for the sector to decarbonise.

Developing a liquid hydrogen infrastructure network will ensure a more rapid decarbonisation of the sector, according to the report, titled Airports as Catalysts for Decarbonisation.

“As hydrogen-powered aircraft are introduced and demand for liquid hydrogen as an aircraft fuel increases, the focus will shift towards building large-scale liquefaction and storage systems, and hydrant pipe networks for refuelling,” it says.

“The initial capital costs may be distributed across a wide range of hydrogen users” Jacobs

“However, by introducing the use of hydrogen at an early stage, this transition will be more efficient than if the construction of the hydrogen infrastructure is only focused on what is needed for aircraft refuelling, making airports, and hydrogen, the catalyst for decarbonisation both on and off the airfield.”

Due to the time it takes to plan, design, consult on and implement new airport infrastructure, airport owners and operators will need to make provision for the delivery and storage of hydrogen long before the start of demand for aircraft refuelling—likely to happen in the early 2030s.

Airport owners and operators should decarbonise their scope one emissions in the short term by using hydrogen in on-ground applications, including local public transport, logistics and heating. This will enable them to become comfortable with using hydrogen, particularly in relation to managing operations.

“Starting with the intent to create a holistic approach to the use of hydrogen means that the initial capital costs may be distributed across a wide range of hydrogen users,” the report says.

The report offers three differing models for hydrogen infrastructure development: the delivery of liquid hydrogen directly to the airport by truck, the use of a hydrogen gas pipeline with on-site liquefaction or the use of electrolysis for hydrogen production on-site at the airport.

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Author: Tom Young