As part of its decarbonization efforts, Airbus is trying to get green hydrogen from countries including India, Australia, and Latin America, according to a senior corporate official.
For its ambitious zero-emission aircraft that will go into service by 2035, Airbus is currently developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine. In order to establish a low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution station at the French airport of Toulouse-Blagnac, it has also inked a partnership agreement with HyPort.
India and Latin America, among others, are appealing as potential supply centers due to the low cost of renewable energy production there. Airbus Vice President for Zero-Emission Aircraft Glenn Llewellyn commented
“Making ensuring that there is green hydrogen available at airports when a hydrogen aircraft is ready is one of the primary initiatives that Airbus is now engaged in. To ensure that green hydrogen is accessible at the correct price when we need it, we are working hard with various airports and energy suppliers across the world “On the sidelines of the Airbus Summit 2022, Llewellyn spoke with PTI.
Early in 2023, the airport’s hydrogen fueling station at Toulouse-Blagnac is expected to go into operation. It will be able to create about 400 kg of hydrogen each day, which is enough to power 50 ground vehicles.
Although there are now no hydrogen-powered aircraft in the air, he pointed out that we can utilize hydrogen to reduce the carbon footprint of airport operations. By doing so, we can scale up the supply of hydrogen and get ready for the day when planes will require it.
Llewellyn responded to a query regarding the firm’s strategy for acquiring energy by stating, “We are looking at… how we can get hydrogen from places like India, Australia, and Latin America, where we think the cost of hydrogen production is really interesting, and what the value chain will be to get that hydrogen to other regions of the world where it’s possibly more expensive to produce locally.
The term “green hydrogen” describes hydrogen produced using low-carbon or renewable energy sources. In comparison to “grey hydrogen,” which is made from fossil fuels like natural gas, it emits much fewer carbon emissions. The majority of the hydrogen market at the moment is made up of grey hydrogen.
The National Hydrogen Mission was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2021, with the goal of making India a significant leader in the sector. By 2030, the nation aims to produce 5 MT of green hydrogen as part of this project.
India has previously stated that it wants to satisfy 50% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030 and increase its renewable energy capacity to 500 GW.
According to Llewellyn, India is a fantastic site with enormous potential for the production of (green) hydrogen at an exhilarating price.
In the future, he said, “I would hope that we may have zero emission airplanes operating out of airports like Delhi and others at desirable price points based on home created renewable energy ecosystem.”
