NACO to Study Hydrogen Storage at Rotterdam The Hague Airport

NACO, a company of Royal HaskoningDHV, has signed a contract with Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTHA) that will see its leading aviation consultants analyse the concept design and safety aspects of a hydrogen storage and dispensing facility.

This research is one of the first steps to a potentially more sustainable energy source for aviation.

From left to right: Daan van Dijk – Innovator at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Joyce Gardner – CFO at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Esther Kromhout – Director at NACO, Vivekanandhan Sindhamani – Head of Sustainable Aviation & Resilience at NACO

© NACO

This study is important for the hydrogen roadmap at RTHA and the work performed in the EU funded TULIPS programme, coordinated by the Schiphol Group. TULIPS seeks to develop innovations that facilitate the transition to low-carbon mobility and enhance sustainability at airports for the next four years.

As airports look to improve sustainability of aviation, the transition from fossil kerosene to emission-free hydrogen (H2) fuel has emerged as one viable solution. Paving the way to make aviation more sustainable, RTHA has developed a roadmap for hydrogen users. One of the next steps to realise the sustainability ambitions is to explore the practical considerations and impacts of hydrogen at the airport.

NACO has been commissioned by RTHA to explore concept designs and the external safety assessments of liquid hydrogen storage and refuelling facilities for both the scenario within the TULIPS programme and scale-up scenarios at the airport. These include liquid hydrogen refuelling trucks and larger liquid hydrogen storage tanks on airside.

The results from this analysis will feed into the detailed design, concept of operations, airside planning for RTHA including the development of a small scale liquid hydrogen storage facility at RTHA in 2024. Also, it will contribute to the developed innovations in TULIPS for wider airport operations on liquid hydrogen.

The project will deepen an already strong relationship between NACO and RTHA, after the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year to collaborate and pilot new innovations in aviation.

This article was originally published by NACO.