Airbus, Air Liquide, and VINCI Airports are collaborating to promote hydrogen use at airports and to expand the European airport network to handle future hydrogen planes.
The first installations will take place in 2023 at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport in France. This collaboration demonstrates the three organizations’ common goal of using their separate skills to aid in the decarbonization of air transport.
The partners have picked Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport as the pilot airport. There are numerous stages to this project’s implementation:
From 2023, a hydrogen gas distribution station will be built at the Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport. The airport’s ground vehicles (airside buses, trucks, handling equipment, etc.) as well as the heavy cargo vehicles that travel around the airport will be supplied by this station. This initial phase is critical for evaluating the airport’s infrastructure and dynamics as a “hydrogen hub” in its service region.
Between 2023 and 2030, liquid hydrogen infrastructure will be deployed, allowing hydrogen to be supplied into future aircraft tanks.
Beyond 2030, the implementation of hydrogen infrastructure at the airport, from manufacturing to widespread distribution of liquid hydrogen.
By 2030, the three partners will look into the potential of outfitting VINCI Airports’ European airport network with hydrogen production, storage, and supply facilities for use on the ground and on planes.
This collaboration demonstrates the parties’ common commitment to decarbonizing aviation transport and represents a significant step forward for hydrogen development across the airport ecosystem. It will rely on Airbus’ competence in commercial aircraft, Air Liquide’s expertise in handling the whole hydrogen value chain (production, liquefaction, storage, and distribution), and VINCI Airports’ worldwide reach, which includes 45 airports in 12 countries, to help build the required network.
