Airbus looking at India for green hydrogen supplies

Munich: European aerospace major Airbus is looking to source green hydrogen from markets like India, Australia and Latin America as part of its decarbonisation efforts, a senior company official said. \

Airbus is currently developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine for its ambitious zero-emission aircraft that will enter service by 2035. It has also signed a partnership agreement with HyPort to set up a low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution station at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France.

The cost of renewable energy production in India and Latin America, among others, make them attractive as potential supply hubs, Glenn Llewellyn, VP Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus, said. “One of the key activities that are underway at Airbus is to make sure that when we have a hydrogen aircraft available, we also have green hydrogen at airports. So, we are doing a lot of work with different airports and energy providers all across the world to make sure that green hydrogen is available at the right price when we need it,” Llewellyn told PTI on the sidelines of the Airbus Summit 2022 here.

The hydrogen station at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport is slated to enter into service in early 2023. It will have a capacity to produce around 400 kilograms of hydrogen per day -- enough to power some 50 ground transportation vehicles.

“There are no hydrogenpowered aircraft flying today but we can use hydrogen to decarbonise airport activities,” he noted. ‘Green hydrogen’ refers to hydrogen generated by renewable energy or from lowcarbon power. It has significantly lower carbon emissions than ‘grey hydrogen’ which is derived from fossil fuels like natural gas.