The development of hydrogen fuel infrastructure required for delivering zero-emission regional flights from Aberdeen and Glasgow airports is to be explored.
AGS, which owns and operates the two Scottish airports together with Southampton, is working with sustainable aviation specialist ZeroAvia to assess the opportunities for on-site hydrogen production as well as exploring potential commercial routes.
Zero-emission flights are seen as an option to better connect Scotland’s major cities to remote areas in the highlands and islands, but also to other parts of the UK within the next few years.
Aircraft relevant to ZeroAvia’s first commercial offering – ZA600 – already operate from Glasgow, and there is a potential to expand zero-emission flights across the AGS group to Aberdeen and Southampton.
The ZA600 is designed to power nine-19 seat aircraft up to 300 nautical miles and will soon be flight tested for the first time in a 19-seat Dornier 228.
The partners will work towards a flight demonstration powered by ZeroAvia’s ZA600 600kW hydrogen-electric engine, which is on a path towards certification by 2025.
Commercial routes from Glasgow could follow soon after.
ZeroAvia’s mission is to deliver hydrogen-electric engines to aircraft, having identified the technology as the most practical, economical, and furthest reaching solution for reducing aviation’s climate change and clean air impacts.
The engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers, with the only byproduct being water.
AGS said: “Given the reduced operating costs and lower noise profile offered by hydrogen-electric engines, operating more flights becomes attractive and can thus boost regional economic growth.”
The agreement will form an important part of the airport operator’s drive to reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the next decade.
Chief executive Derek Provan said: “The development of hydrogen powered aircraft has the potential to completely revolutionise aviation and it is becoming an increasingly viable option for regional and short-haul aircraft.
“As a regional airport group serving the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as well as the Channel Islands from Southampton, AGS will be the perfect testbed for hydrogen flight.
“Through our partnership with ZeroAvia we’ll address some of the challenges associated with the generation, delivery and storage of hydrogen on-site and how we can prepare our infrastructure to support zero emission flights.”