The collaboration with Zero Avia foresees the provision of a mobile hydrogen refuelling system at the airports. Work is already underway to integrate hydrogen technology and safety measures into the airport infrastructure. The partners are liaising closely with local aviation authorities to obtain permits for demonstration flights in German and Dutch airspace.
Zero Avia, a British-American developer of hydrogen-electric aircraft, has joined a consortium involving Hamburg Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport and the two urban aviation clusters to advance climate-neutral airport operations and sustainable aviation. This comes after the signing of a "Memorandum of Understanding" to operate a first hydrogen flight between Hamburg and Rotterdam from 2026. Research into a hydrogen flight route or "Hydrogen Flight Corridor Initiative" between both cities and suitable infrastructure is also underway.
Plans for demonstration flights on hydrogen route
Hamburg seeks to pioneer of sustainable aviation
Hamburg Airport has joined other initiatives such as the Airbus network “Hydrogen Hub at Airports” to advance the use of hydrogen at airports throughout the Baltic Sea region. Together with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Hamburg's Centre of Applied Aeronautical Research (ZAL) and Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg Airport has researched liquid hydrogen as an environment-friendly alternative to paraffin as part of the "Hydrogen Aviation Lab" project underway since 2022.
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