Airbus, a European aircraft manufacturer, is looking to source green hydrogen from India, Australia, and Latin America.
According news agency PTI, Airbus is working on developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine for its ambitious zero-emission aircraft, which will enter service by 2035.
Airbus has also entered into an agreement with HyPort to establish a low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution station at a French airport.
The hydrogen station at France’s Toulouse-Blagnac airport is scheduled to open in early 2023. According to the aerospace company, it will be able to produce 400 kilogrammes of hydrogen per day, which is enough to power 50 ground vehicles.
Glenn Llewellyn, VP Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus, “There are no hydrogen-powered aircraft flying today but we can use hydrogen to decarbonise airport activities… this allows us to scale up hydrogen availability and prepare for the time when we need it for aircraft”.
“India is an amazing location with huge potential for the production of (green) hydrogen at a very exciting cost,” Llewellyn told the agency.
“I would hope that one day we can have zero emission aircraft operating out of airports like Delhi and others at attractive price points based on homegrown renewable energy ecosystem,” he added.
In a statement to Bloomberg News on November 30, Airbus said that the absence of green hydrogen and related infrastructure might delay the commercialization of a carbon-free aircraft.
The European aircraft manufacturer is collaborating with airports, energy providers, and infrastructure providers to create the ecosystem required to support a hydrogen aircraft, which it intends to launch around 2035.
The most environmentally friendly hydrogen is green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy sources like solar and wind because it emits little to no carbon dioxide.
Although it has been hailed as the solution to decarbonizing industries that rely on coal, gas, and oil, green hydrogen’s production costs have historically been much higher than those of other forms of hydrogen. And there are also concerns about its potential for global demand.