Austrian Airlines is studying the suitability of using hydrogen as an emissions-free energy supply to support regular ground maintenance of Airbus A320 aircraft at Vienna International Airport.
Under a pilot program, the carrier has been using a so-called H2Genset hydrogen generator from Austria-based company TEST-FUCHS GmbH “for all regular ground maintenance activities” including cabin cleaning and “easy standard maintenance checks up to A Check” on an A320, the airline explains to Runway Girl Network.
The H2Genset generator has previously been tested in non-aviation applications, such as at festivals, construction sites, and for charging e-bikes and cars. But Austrian’s trial is the first use of H2Genset for aircraft ground maintenance. The system uses what Austrian describes as “a highly efficient frequency converter” from Austrian industrial equipment supplier Dynell.
“The project partners want to use this pilot to build up expertise and familiarize themselves with the necessary infrastructure,” says the carrier. It is hoped and intended that this trial will “set the course for the possible future use of hydrogen for mobile energy supply at the airport and with this, take an important step towards reducing the CO2 footprint.”
Runway Girl Network sought additional color from Austrian including about the safety considerations for using a mobile hydrogen energy supply unit around aircraft. A spokeswoman for the airline tells us that: “within the trial it was made sure that operations at the aircraft took place in a 30 metres distance from the hydrogen unit.”
In terms of future ground applications for hydrogen power at airports, she said there are no current plans for hydrogen-electric taxiing. “However, we will further pursue future opportunities to transform our energy supply across our operations.”
A member of the Lufthansa Group, Austrian and its sister carriers by 2030 aim to halve net CO2 emissions compared to 2019 through reduction and compensation measures.
During the International Air Transport Association’s recent World Sustainability Symposium in Coral Gables, Florida, RGN sat down with various ground handlers to discuss possible other use cases for hydrogen power on the ground.
Manuel Berger, head of ESG at Swissport International, suggested there might be applications for powering deicing trucks. They require “big batteries but maybe there’s a development where this can be hydrogen-powered.”
He stressed that it’s early days. “I know everyone wants to talk about it, but it’s so immature and it’s difficult to see exactly what is required from each of the parties.”
Elsewhere in aviation, hydrogen is seen by Airbus, ZeroAvia and other stakeholders as the energy of the future for powering hydrogen-electric aircraft. This will require infrastructure for housing hydrogen at airports.
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Featured image credited to Austrian Airlines
