Hydrogen has been used to refuel and power critical parts of EasyJet’s ground operation at Bristol Airport, the first airport trial of its kind at a major UK airport.

Hydrogen was used to refuel and power ground support equipment (GSE) – specifically, baggage tractors – servicing passenger aircraft. Conducted as part of the airline’s daily operations, the trial demonstrates that the gas can be safely and reliably used to refuel ground equipment in the busy, live airport environment.

Dubbed Project Acorn, and in development for over a year, the trial will help develop industry best practice standards, provide guidance to airports, airlines, local authorities and regulators on required infrastructure changes, and support the development of a regulatory framework for hydrogen’s use on an airfield – standards which, due to hydrogen’s nascency in aviation, do not currently exist.

The project, run with partners including Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Cranfield University, Connected Places Catapult (CPC), DHL Supply Chain, Fuel Cell Systems, the IAAPS research institute, Jacobs, Mulag and TCR, will provide data and insights that will feed into research that groups like Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA, formed of easyJet, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Ørsted, GKN Aerospace and Bristol Airport) are conducting to ensure UK infrastructure, regulatory and policy changes keep pace with the technological developments in carbon-emission free flying. It also supports the work and ambitions of other bodies such as Hydrogen South West (HSW) and the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII), the latter having also co-funded the project.

The ultimate aim of this research is to support the wider decarbonisation of aviation through more rapid uptake of hydrogen, as the industry adopts alternative fuels: Airbus announced its ZEROe project and the ambition to bring the world’s first hydrogen-powered aircraft to market by 2035, and Rolls-Royce and EasyJet’s have a partnership to develop hydrogen-powered engine technology.

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