Hamburg Airport drives hydrogen aviation with Baltic Sea Region Project

Hamburg Airport has initiated a new Baltic Sea Region Project aimed at driving the development of hydrogen-powered aircraft. Consisting of 16 project partners and 24 associated organisations, the partnership is planned for a duration of three years and could start as early as Autumn 2023.

The project involves the launch of a consortium and the application for EU funding within the interreg programme, including an application for the planned project “BSR Hydrogen Air Transport – Preparation of Baltic Sea Region Airports for Green Hydrogen.”

Important themes of the project involve the development of a green hydrogen supply chain from production to aircraft fuelling, ground support equipment and test operations.

The project also aims to clarify the prerequisites for an airport infrastructure fit for H2-powered aircraft, will perform a demonstration flight with a hydrogen-powered aircraft at Hamburg Airport and open up a new network of flight connections geared towards hydrogen-powered flight.

“H2 offers great potential for climate-neutral flights on short-haul routes,” said Jan Eike Hardegen, Head of Environment, Hamburg Airport. “From our partners’ point of view, regional air transport with smaller, future hydrogen-powered aircraft is particularly suitable. Gaseous hydrogen is the propulsion of the future, especially for smaller regional air transport aircraft, such as turboprops with 20-30 seats.”