Six aviation and energy businesses have formed a sustainable propulsion partnership in New Zealand to assess and drive the introduction of flights powered by green hydrogen. The Hydrogen Consortium has been established by Airbus, Air New Zealand, Christchurch Airport, Fortescue Future Industries, Hiringa Energy and Fabrum. Together, the companies will create a vision for hydrogen-powered air transport in the South Pacific nation, study the hydrogen supply chain, assess projected hydrogen needs for New Zealand aviation to 2050, and develop a package of policies, regulations and incentives to promote hydrogen-powered air transport. The first phase of the programme will be to research introduction of the fuel and to design within six months a hydrogen ecosystem for New Zealand’s aviation industry. The group will then explore whether test flights of hydrogen-powered aircraft can be performed in the country.

The consortium was launched at Christchurch Airport, which is developing a 400-hectare renewable energy precinct. “The consortium will see some of the world’s best experts collaborate on one of the most promising zero emission fuels – green hydrogen,” said the airport’s Chief Executive, Justin Watson.

The initiative follows Air New Zealand’s recent sustainable aviation partnership expansion, in which nine aircraft or powertrain manufacturers have been appointed as technical advisors to the airline as it progresses plans to introduce zero-emission aircraft on regional air routes from 2026 (see article). Membership of The Hydrogen Consortium also underscores Air New Zealand’s growing interest in hydrogen as a potential fuel, adding to an earlier collaboration with Airbus to explore how hydrogen propulsion would work in the airline’s network.

“To fly hydrogen-powered aircraft in New Zealand will need an aviation ecosystem that can support it,” said Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “The Hydrogen Consortium brings together energy, aircraft, airline operator and airport expertise with the aim of bringing this to life. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.” The airline plans to operate its first zero-emission aircraft type by 2026, and to replace or upgrade its 23 Q300 turboprops from 2030. It is also actively progressing the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel.

Karine Guenan, Airbus VP of the ZEROe Ecosystem, said achievement of sustainable air transport required collaboration between partners across the aviation and energy sectors. “The consortium we are building brings together a number of pioneering partners with a common interest – to make hydrogen-powered aviation in New Zealand a reality.”

Within the new consortium, Airbus will engage with aviation and non-aviation stakeholders to assess energy supply needs to enable the operation of hydrogen-powered aircraft. Airbus is planning to develop a new hydrogen-powered commercial passenger aircraft for entry into service by 2035.

Hiringa Energy, a New Zealand-based developer, producer and supplier of green hydrogen, is already constructing key infrastructure to support the transition of all transport modes to the new fuel and will activate its first four production and high-capacity refuelling stations this year, ahead of national expansion in 2024.

“There are green hydrogen-fuelled buses, trucks, trains and boats already in service,” said Hiringa’s CEO. Andrew Clennett. These include the chase boat which his company is fuelling for Emirates Team New Zealand, the nation’s entry in the 37th America’s Cup yacht race in Barcelona next year. “Aircraft are a key next step and this consortium has formed to ensure these planes have the infrastructure and hydrogen supply they need to take off here.”

Christchurch-based liquid hydrogen company Fabrum, which designed the hydrogen propulsion technology for the Team New Zealand chase boat, has developed a lightweight liquid hydrogen fuel tank for use in aircraft. “Having these organisations around the same table will turbocharge what we all learn,” said Fabrum co-founder Christopher Boyle. “Together we’ll make a big difference in taking zero emission aviation forward.”

A global green hydrogen technology company based in Australia, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has a growing involvement in the aviation sector. It promotes the use of hydrogen and ammonia produced from 100% renewable energy. “We are on a mission to eliminate fossil fuels, including from the aviation industry, and green hydrogen is the key to achieving this,” said FFI’s CEO, Mark Hutchinson. “The consortium members all have extraordinary expertise in and commitment to the decarbonisation of air travel, and together we believe we can develop a pathway to New Zealand becoming a global trailblazer in this pursuit.”

The company is already a green hydrogen partner of Airbus and is collaborating with US-based Universal Hydrogen, which has developed a containerised fuel system in which green hydrogen, stored in capsules, is transported to airports and loaded directly onto the aircraft it will be used to power, sidestepping the need to use or upgrade airport fuelling infrastructure. The company is preparing to test fly a prototype aircraft in the US.

Christchurch Airport has cut its emissions by 90% since 2016 and now advises other airports on decarbonisation strategies. In 2020, it was the first to achieve the newly-established Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 4/4+, the airport industry’s highest carbon reduction recognition. It received the accreditation after cutting its Scope 3 emissions by 83% through the installation of ground source heating and cooling in its terminal building and reducing Scope 2 emissions through the introduction of LED lighting and improved energy efficiencies. It also introduced ground power for aircraft, eliminating the need to use their fossil fuel-powered auxiliary power units while at the airport.

Image: The liquid hydrogen-powered Airbus ZEROe concept aircraft in the turboprop configuration

Airbus has taken another significant step towards the introduction of its proposed ZEROe passenger aircraft by 2035 by establishing a Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) for hydrogen technologies at its Filton, UK, facility. A priority of the centre, which has just commenced technology development, will be to come up with a cost-competitive cryogenic fuel system for zero-emission passenger aircraft, while simultaneously strengthening UK skills and expertise in hydrogen propulsion. Activation of the new ZEDC follows the recent formation of a partnership between Airbus and engine manufacturer CFM International, which will use a modified Airbus A380 as a testbed for hydrogen fuel trials from 2026. Airbus has also forged industrial partnerships in markets including Singapore, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia to research air and ground requirements necessary for hydrogen-powered aircraft, reports Tony Harrington.

The Filton ZEDC is one of the beneficiaries of a £685 million ($860m) commitment by the UK government to support the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) during the next three years in developing zero-carbon and ultra-low-emission aircraft technologies.

“Establishing the ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus’ in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for the ZEROe project across Airbus’ four home countries,” said Airbus CTO Sabine Klauke. “This, coupled with our partnership with ATI, will allow us to leverage our respective expertise to realise the potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.”

Technology development at the Filton centre will include full product and industrial capabilities, ranging from components to whole system and cryogenic testing. In the UK, Airbus already specialises in end-to-end fuel systems development, one of the most complex and critical technologies for future hydrogen aircraft. The new facility expands the research and technology capabilities of Airbus in the UK, in addition to the company’s work on cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks at existing ZEDC facilities across Europe. In Madrid and Stade, Germany, the company is focused on composite structure technologies, while metallic structure technologies are progressed in Nantes, France, and Bremen, Germany. All of the ZEDCs are expected to be operational next year for ground testing of the first fully-functional cryogenic hydrogen tank, ahead of flight testing from 2026.

Airbus said the new Filton facility reaffirmed its long-term commitment to continue as a leading participant in the British aerospace sector, working with the Jet Zero Council to progress research and jobs in sustainable aviation and helping the UK to achieve its target for net zero emissions. The activation of the UK ZEDC also followed the opening in June last year of a £40 million AIRtec research and testing plant, also at Filton, funded jointly by Airbus and the ATI to deliver next-generation aircraft wings, landing gear systems and fuel system designs.

Since September 2020, when it announced its ZEROe programme and initial aircraft concepts, Airbus has established industrial partnerships in New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan to help progress a transition to hydrogen-powered air transport, providing aircraft characteristics, fleet energy requirements and insights on supply, ground support and infrastructure for this new propulsion technology.

Earlier this year, Airbus and CFM International, a 50/50 company of GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, announced a partnership in which Airbus will equip an A380 super jumbo with liquid hydrogen tanks, and oversee flight testing with the new fuel, while CFM will modify the combustor, fuel system and control system of a GE Passport turbofan engine to operate on hydrogen, attaching the converted powerplant to the rear fuselage of the test plane to assess engine emissions, including contrails, separately from the engines powering the plane.

Airbus has since signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Australian renewable energy company Fortescue Future Industries to investigate the use of liquid hydrogen and power-to-liquid fuels for aviation, scenarios for hydrogen demand in air transport, refuelling specifications, and the regulatory framework governing the new fuel, further progressing its plans to introduce zero-emission hydrogen powered aircraft into commercial service by 2035.  

“Partnerships and cross-sectoral approaches are a necessity to make zero-emission aviation a reality,” said Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus VP Zero Emission Aircraft.

Image: Three concepts of the Airbus ZEROe hybrid-hydrogen aircraft

Universal Hydrogen has chosen Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the site of a major new manufacturing and distribution centre to support the transition of regional turboprop airliners to green hydrogen propulsion. The company plans to develop a 50-acre (20-hectare) site at the state’s largest airport, Albuquerque International Sunport, to produce hydrogen storage capsules, which can be transported direct to airports and loaded onto aircraft, negating the need for complex distribution infrastructure and refuelling facilities, reports Tony Harrington. Universal also plans to use the Albuquerque site to assemble kits to convert conventionally-powered aircraft to hydrogen systems. In a parallel development, Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a key partner of and shareholder in Universal Hydrogen, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to explore the use of liquid hydrogen and power-to-liquid fuels for air transport. Under an agreement signed late last year, FFI will supply green hydrogen to Universal until 2035 for use in regional aviation.

The Albuquerque facility will be constructed on land previously occupied by a runway, which the airport decommissioned in 2012. Universal Hydrogen will spend up to two years planning and building the new plant, in readiness for full-scale production by 2024. The company plans to introduce the first of its transportable hydrogen capsules into commercial service by 2025, subject to certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, and has already signed agreements with 11 operators to convert almost 100 regional aircraft to the new propulsion system.

“Hydrogen is the best and only scalable solution to truly decarbonise aviation,” said Jon Gordon, co-founder and General Counsel of Universal Hydrogen. “We want to bring it to market decades sooner than anyone thought possible, by 2025.”  Construction is expected to create up to 1,200 jobs, while Universal Hydrogen plans to employ up to 500 specialist staff by 2029.

The State of New Mexico has pledged an initial $10 million from the job creation fund of its Local Economic Development Act, while the City of Albuquerque is considering providing further assistance. The funding will be subject to Universal’s achievement of economic development benchmarks, specified in a project participation agreement.

Australia-based Universal partner Fortescue Future Industries has joined forces with Airbus to investigate the challenges to aviation of hydrogen regulations, supply, infrastructure and fuelling, from production of the fuel to its transfer onto aircraft.

Airbus will provide the characteristics of fleet energy usage, scenarios for hydrogen demand in air transport, refuelling specifications and aviation regulatory framework, similar to partnerships it is already undertaking with airlines including Korean Air and Air New Zealand, while FFI will provide details of cost and technology throughout the supply chain and develop infrastructure deployment scenarios for the provision of green hydrogen supplies to specific airports.

Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus VP Zero Emission Aircraft, said: “Partnerships and cross-sectoral approaches are a necessity to make zero-emission aviation a reality. Airbus is preparing itself to put a zero-emission aircraft in service by 2035. But this will only be possible if we can ensure enough green hydrogen is produced worldwide.” 

FFI Founder and Chairman Dr Andrew Forrest added: “The time is now for a green revolution in the aviation industry. This exciting collaboration brings together leaders in the aviation industry with leaders in green energy for a better, greener, cleaner future.”

The FFI-Universal Hydrogen partnership includes a global offtake arrangement through which FFI will supply green hydrogen to Universal to power regional and other aviation sectors until 2035, a scoping study to develop green hydrogen production and logistics hubs in Iceland, New Zealand and Australia, and a region-by-region evaluation of green hydrogen demand in the aviation sector, to help identify and promote the use of green hydrogen.

“This agreement will help ensure that we have adequate supply of green hydrogen globally to fuel not only regional aviation in the 2020s, but to support the entry into service of a hydrogen single-aisle airplane in the 2030s,” said Paul Eremenko, CEO of Universal Hydrogen. “Through the investment of companies like FFI, we expect green hydrogen to be at cost parity with jet fuel on an equivalent energy basis by the mid-2020s, and to be significantly cheaper in the years that follow.”

FFI CEO Julie Shuttleworth said the Universal partnership reinforced the potential of hydrogen as “a powerful fuel for a range of difficult-to-decarbonise industries,” adding that “demand for green hydrogen in the aviation industry is expected to grow exponentially as new climate targets are set globally.” 

Photo: Universal Hydrogen has just completed ground testing of its 1MW Iron Bird

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