Airbus has joined the Hyport project in Toulouse
Completed in early 2022, the hydrogen station at Toulouse-Blagnac airport should be commissioned in the first weeks of 2023. Generation, storage and distribution systems are currently undergoing final testing. The unit will have a production capacity of approximately 400 kilograms of hydrogen per day, which will supply around fifty land transport vehicles, mainly buses circulating at the airport.
Airbus and HyPort have worked to put in place a deployment plan for the expansion of these operations, adapting the means of production and distribution, as well as the capacity of the infrastructures. Objective: to anticipate, as of today, the expected increase in hydrogen demand for aeronautics in the coming years. The partnership will notably result in the development of a blueprint describing the requirements and providing advice on the security of operations, regulatory compliance, social acceptance as well as the financial investment necessary for the widespread use of the hydrogen at airports.
Eventually, the experience acquired at Toulouse-Blagnac should enable Airbus to implement its plan operationally. Hydrogen hub in airports which aims to help airports identify infrastructure needs for future hydrogen aircraft, as well as related airport operations.
As Karine Guenan, vice-president in charge of the zero-emissions ecosystem at Airbus, points out, “ the use of hydrogen to decarbonize all ground transportation associated with the airport by 2020 to 2030 will pave the way for the availability of hydrogen for zero-emission aircraft by 2035 “.
Liquid hydrogen with ArianeGroup
Beyond this partnership with Hyport, Airbus has also partnered with ArianeGroup to build the first liquid hydrogen supply station intended to refuel the ZEROe demonstration aircraft. Installed within Toulouse Blagnac airport, this infrastructure will be commissioned in 2025. ArianeGroup, which is a space propulsion technology joint venture equally owned by Airbus and Safran, will be responsible for its design, production and of its maintenance.
The station will supply liquid hydrogen to the Airbus ZEROe demonstrator when it enters its ground and flight test phase between 2025 and 2030. This “laboratory aircraft” will be equipped with 4 liquid hydrogen tanks and a hydrogen combustion engine installed in its rear fuselage. These tanks will feed a conditioning system in which liquid hydrogen will be converted into gaseous hydrogen. This will then be routed to the engine where it will be burned to propel the device.
“We have been using liquid hydrogen for the propulsion of Ariane rockets for 50 years, so our experience is solid in storing, testing and using this fuel.“, says André-Hubert Roussel, president of ArianeGroup. “We are delighted to partner with Airbus to work on this aeronautical project which will accelerate its energy transition..”
“In order to prepare for the entry into service of our zero-emission aircraft in 2035, we must study and develop all the technologies necessary for its operation”, says Sabine Klauke, technical director of the Airbus group. “This partnership with ArianeGroup will allow us to leverage the recognized expertise in liquid hydrogen and space technologies of a leader in this sector to achieve our objective..”