Manchester Airport has revealed plans to become the first UK airport to have a direct supply of low-carbon hydrogen fuel thanks to a collaboration with the HyNet decarbonisation project.
The airport has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HyNet’s two founding partners: Progressive Energy and Cadent. Through the collaboration, the partners aim to connect Manchester Airport to the HyNet hydrogen pipeline.
This announcement has been backed by Aviation Minister, Baroness Vere, and Energy and Climate Change Minister, Graham Stuart, as well as the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and North West Hydrogen Alliance.
Hydrogen technology and hydrogen-powered aircraft are touted to play a key role in decarbonising short-haul aviation from the mid-2030s. A research project conducted by FlyZero estimated that the demand for liquid hydrogen at an airport the size of Manchester could be 6.5 million litres a day by 2050.
“This announcement demonstrates the meaningful action we are taking to ensure we can deliver a carbon-free future for the aviation industry.
“By securing a direct supply of hydrogen for our airport, our 60 airlines will be able to make use of this exciting and ground-breaking technology as soon as possible.
“The use of hydrogen will make a significant contribution to the UK aviation sector’s decarbonisation efforts and supports industry partners in reaching net zero.”
A panel event on the requirements for realising a hydrogen future for aviation was held at Manchester Airport to mark the signing of this MoU.
The panel discussed how projects such as HyNet could work with airports to meet the demand for the new technology and infrastructure.
“Hydrogen offers great potential to decarbonise flying, but we need the right infrastructure at our airports to help harness that opportunity.
“We are funding the multi-million pound Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure project, which has already published important findings, and it’s great to see industry now pushing ahead in this area to make zero emission flight a reality.”
Manchester Airport has a target to make its operations net zero carbon by 2038, 12 years ahead of the UK national target and two years ahead of the target set for UK airports in the government’s Jet Zero Strategy.
