Canadian airports, including Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport, partner with Airbus and ZeroAvia for the creation of hydrogen hubs at these airports.
In a significant step towards a greener future, Airbus and ZeroAvia have launched a collaborative initiative to explore the feasibility of hydrogen infrastructure at major Canadian airports. The project, which includes Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), and Vancouver International Airport (YVR), aims to pave the way for low-carbon airport operations.
The main offices of the A220 aircraft, including its main final assembly lines, pre-assembly line, and main programme, engineering, and customer services, are located in Mirabel, Quebec. Airbus's new "Hydrogen Hub at Airports" programme is the first of its kind in Canada, pioneering hydrogen for aviation.
Karine Guenan, Vice-President of ZEROe Ecosystem, emphasised Canada's potential for hydrogen production from renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power. Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO at Vancouver International Airport, expressed her optimism that this collaboration will help identify the necessary changes in the industry and supporting ecosystem to meet carbon reduction goals.
ZeroAvia, a key player in the hydrogen-electric aircraft sector, brings extensive experience in hydrogen infrastructure planning. They have been working with over a dozen airports on hydrogen infrastructure planning, informed by their development of hydrogen production, mobile storage, and dispensing refueling systems.
While specific detailed results of the feasibility studies are not yet available, these collaborative efforts indicate a progressive move towards enabling hydrogen infrastructure. The partners aim to use their expertise to support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Air transport is crucial in Canada due to its wide-spread geography, connecting international cities and providing important domestic connectivity. Commercial flights in Canada are forecast to grow by 51% in the next 20 years, resulting in an additional 39.8 million passenger journeys by 2037.
Montreal, the home city of the International Civil Aviation Organization, is a key driver for global framework collaboration. The cooperation will provide a better understanding of hydrogen aircraft concepts and operations, supply, infrastructure, and refueling needs at airports.
ZeroAvia has an active certification application for a powertrain (ZA600) for 10-20 seat aircraft, targeting market entry within the next couple of years. They are also developing a second engine (ZA2000) for 40-80 seat aircraft to follow soon after.
Airbus, which has been in Canada for 40 years, employs more than 4,500 people at its ten sites and offices, sourcing around C$2 billion annually from Canadian companies. Deborah Flint, President and CEO of Toronto Pearson, mentioned that Toronto Pearson is committed to making its operations and those of the larger aviation industry more sustainable, including the construction of a new hydrogen filling station.
The use of hydrogen to power future aircraft is expected to significantly reduce aircraft emissions in the air and decarbonise air transport activities on the ground. Airbus unveiled the first ZEROe concept in 2020 with the ambition to bring to market the world's first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035.
ZeroAvia is working to develop the hydrogen fuel ecosystem to support these clean propulsion systems at airports by developing unique production, storage, and dispensing technologies, and by working with airport partners to plan for hydrogen operations in the near future. The partners have signed Memorandums of Understanding to study the feasibility of hydrogen infrastructure at airports in Canada.
The collaborative initiative between Airbus and ZeroAvia, representing the first hydrogen hub at airports in Canada, aims to leverage the extensive experience of ZeroAvia in hydrogen infrastructure planning to decarbonize the aviation industry, as they work towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. With ZeroAvia's active certification application for hydrogen-powered aircraft and Airbus's ambition to bring the world's first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035, technology plays a crucial role in the future of green aviation.
