DALLAS – Airbus and SEA, the company that manages Milan’s Linate (LIN) and Malpensa (MXP) airports, have signed an MoU for the implementation of hydrogen distribution projects.
Airbus is expected to produce the first hydrogen-powered aircraft around 2035. This implies that airports should work on their “readiness” and be prepared with facilities for the supply of hydrogen to the new aircraft.
According to a SEA release, Milan’s airports have “risen to the occasion and will set the standard for the rest of Europe” as they prepare to welcome the next generation of planes.
The two firms plan to pool their resources to help decarbonize aviation and outline the practical requirements and opportunities that hydrogen will bring to the sector. The agreement will focus on a series of feasibility studies targeted at building a hydrogen refueling center for non-aviation use in the short term, as well as long-term infrastructure development for hydrogen use in aviation.
Airports will need to become hydrogen distributors and thus a reference point for the surrounding region, a challenge that Milano Malpensa has already taken up, confirming its role as an important driver for the whole region.
“With this agreement, SEA has taken a concrete step forward in enabling important solutions for the decarbonisation of airports and the entire industry,” said Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA. “We are going through an important transition and have chosen to be at the forefront of it, together with our partners. Innovation is in the DNA of aviation and, thanks to Airbus, is moving toward a transformation that was unimaginable just a few years ago. We are proud to be part of it.”
SEA is one of the European airports, along Milano Malpensa and Milano Linate, that will reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Deal’s 2050 date.
SEA will make a substantial contribution to the complicated task of CO2 reduction while enhancing energy efficiency, air quality, and biodiversity as part of the European Commission-funded project “OLGA, hOlistic & Green Airports,” which aims to decarbonize the aviation industry. A key SEA strategy plan aimed at a quick post-pandemic recovery places a heavy emphasis on environmental and sustainability-related change.
Airbus also unveiled its ambitious plan to decarbonize the aviation industry, which includes the ZEROe project, which is researching zero-emission technology for future aircraft. One of the most promising zero-emission technologies for reducing aviation’s climate effect is hydrogen, and airports can help facilitate the transition to a climate-neutral aviation ecosystem.
Featured image: Milan Malpensa Airport. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways
