Airbus, Aena, Air Nostrum, Iberia, Exolum and Repsol join forces

16.07.2024 - 10:30 / traveldailynews.com / Theodore Koumelis

Airbus and five partners sign a deal to develop Spain’s first hydrogen airport hub, aiming to integrate hydrogen-powered aviation and support sector decarbonization.

Airbus, Aena, Air Nostrum, Iberia, Exolum and Repsol signed a Collaboration Agreement to study the creation of the first hydrogen airport hub in Spain.

The six companies joined forces to address the main challenges posed by the deployment of hydrogen-powered aviation in the country. It is the first time that a collaboration project brings together the entire value chain, from primary energy production to hydrogen ground operations, along with two airlines and an entire airport network.

This collaboration will provide partners with a holistic view of hydrogen-powered aircraft and how it can be integrated into the airport ecosystem. It will not only focus on hydrogen supply and infrastructure, but also on the specific requirements of ground operations at airports. The ultimate goal is to encourage and support the growth of the hydrogen aviation ecosystem in Spain.

“Decarbonisation of the airline sector is a key aim for Airbus and the deployment of hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft with its H2 ecosystem is an essential lever. The aviation industry as a whole must work together to secure the future supply of hydrogen in airports, especially taking into account Spain’s great potential in renewables and low-carbon hydrogen production,” points out Javier Arnaldo, Director of Sustainability at Airbus Spain.

“The decarbonisation of the air transport sector is a priority for Aena. This collaboration will allow us to obtain a broader understanding of how the process of supplying hydrogen to Spanish airports could materialise in the future, in order to establish a roadmap that will address the main challenges presented by the introduction of this new energy vector in an airport environment,” says Ana Salazar, Director of Sustainability at Aena.

María José Sanz, Director of Quality and Environment at Air Nostrum, explains that “Our commitment is to work alongside the developers of new technologies aimed at decarbonising air transport. As a regional airline we can contribute to the project because we meet the necessary conditions to become the first implementers of hydrogen technology, thanks to the size of our planes and the average distance we travel.”

According to Teresa Parejo, Director of Sustainability at Iberia, “Collaboration between the different actors is necessary to advance the decarbonisation of the sector. Hydrogen will foreseeably be part of the future of aviation, which will come later and will complement the development of sustainable fuels; to reach that future we must begin to take the first steps now.”

For his part, Andrés Suárez