Fly sustainably Virgin – Photo Nick Sarvari via Unsplash
The dream of climate-neutral flying continues to revive: Although climate-neutral flying is only possible in theory so far, there is a lot of movement in this segment. A problem remains that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by air travel are difficult to reduce or offset
Now hydrogen planes are supposed to fix it.
Hydrogen Airplane Fuel Cell HY4 Green Fly
The Hanseatic city of Hamburg excels here – and wants to position itself as a hub for hydrogen aircraft in northern Germany
The H2 planes are coming – soon at Hamburg Airport?
With the help of EU funding, Hamburg Airport wants to develop into a hub for hydrogen aircraft in the Baltic Sea region. A three-year project with a volume of 4.8 million euros is expected to start in November. “The project wants to better connect rural Baltic Sea regions with hydrogen-powered small aircraft to existing aviation hubs,” said a statement from the airport on Wednesday. “Almost all the important airport operators around the Baltic Sea belong to the partnership,” and Hamburg is in charge. The Sylt and Lübeck airports, the airlines Sylt Air and Lübeck Air, are also involved, as the Ministry of Transport in Kiel announced the day before. 1.1 million euros of the project budget are allocated to Hamburg Airport. The project partners expect EU funding of around 80 percent from the Interreg Baltic Sea program. Important content of the “Baltic Sea Region Project” is the development of the supply chain for green, gaseous hydrogen from production to the refueling of aircraft or airport ground equipment as well as test operations, it said.
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“Hydrogen offers great potential for climate-neutral flights on short-haul routes,” said Jan Eike Hardegen, head of the environment at Germany’s fifth-largest airport. “Gaseous hydrogen is the engine of the future, especially for smaller general aviation aircraft, such as turboprop machines with 20-30 seats.”
These aircraft could also be used to connect more rural regions in the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. The project expressly aims to revitalize regional air traffic.
“As part of the project, the requirements for an airport infrastructure geared towards H2-powered aircraft are to be clarified,” the statement said. “Once the project is complete, all airports should be ready to invest and implement their infrastructure projects on their own.” At the end of the project period, a real demonstration flight with a hydrogen-powered aircraft is planned.