L’liquid hydrogen new frontier for decarbonise the aviation sector and promote one more sustainable mobility in the airportthe with Sea which joins the project, together with 21 other companies and research institutions at national and international level Alright2T (Airport-level demonstration of ground refueling of liquid hydrogen for aviation) coordinated by Aeneas which was presented at the end of January in Liason office Enea of Brussels together with all partners.
Alrighet2T, funded by the European Commission with approx 10 million euros (pHorizon Europe – Work Program 2023-2024 “Climate, Energy and Mobility”) will contribute to developing innovative solutions of components, technologies and systems for the use ofliquid hydrogen in the airport sector, strengthening the European leadership in the research and experimentation field and in the industrial field, consolidating the role of airports as hubs for the creation and diffusion of the hydrogen economy.
The project includes tests at two airports, Milan Malpensa and Paris, to study, validate and demonstrate two different approaches for hydrogen refueling in aircraft and ground handling vehicles. TO Milan, Sea will experiment with the “direct” refueling of liquid hydrogen, defining the operational protocols to guarantee safety and speed in operations; to Paris refueling will be demonstrated by replacement-exchange of the liquid hydrogen tank filled in a different location. Two completely different approaches to compare reliability, operation, boil-off, safety, costs. Enea will also provide its contribution to the development and evaluation activities of the various technological solutions from a technical, economic and environmental point of view.
“It is an important result in a highly competitive European context – he explains Viviana Cigolotti, head of the Enea Laboratory for Energy Storage, Batteries and Technologies for the Production and Use of Hydrogen of the Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department -. A further recognition of the value of our researchers, the quality of the research activities conducted and the presence of an efficient and effective organizational structure functional to the preparation of complex proposals”.
“Aviation is responsible for approximately 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. Innovative, low-carbon fueling technologies and processes can reduce the environmental impact to facilitate the energy transition in progress – adds Cigolotti -. Alright2T will develop and test, in a real environment, hydrogen-powered aeronautical technologies; in parallel, transversal activities will be conducted to determine the optimal operating conditions, in compliance with environmental, safety and regulatory requirements with the final objective of bringing these solutions to the market”.
“Although the airports they are responsible for only 3% of CO2 emissions related to aeronautical activitiesin recent years they have hired a leadership role for the entire Industry vtowards decarbonisation – he underlines Alessandro Fidato, Chief Operating Officer of Sea Airports of Milan -. This is why we are not alone engaged in numerous projects aimed at achieving zero emissions in 2030 in our airports, but we also want to play an active role in supporting those who build aircraft and operate air connections. Hence ours initiative to encourage the use of Saf sustainable fuels and the strategic choice to contribute to the roadmap that will lead to the use of hydrogen initially for road connections with airports and in the future also to fly our passengers”.
“Our dialogue with all stakeholders fits into this framework – concludes Fidato – to concentrate efforts towards the common objective, as does our involvement in this new project which will bring a very important and concrete experimentation of hydrogen refueling technologies of an aircraft at Milan Malpensa airport”.