Airbus, CAG and CAAS to study potential for hydrogen hub in Singapore

Sharon See

Published Tue, Feb 15, 2022 · 07:55 AM

SINGAPORE'S Changi Airport could be a regional hub for hydrogen fuel by 2035, following a 2-year feasibility study inked on Tuesday (Feb 15).

The agreement to jointly study the potential for a future hydrogen hub was signed by European plane maker Airbus, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Changi Airport Group (CAG) and industrial gases group Linde at the Singapore Airshow 2022.

This follows a similar agreement Airbus signed last week with Incheon International Airport and other parties to explore the use of hydrogen in South Korea's main airport.

Noting that the technology of hydrogen fuel is ready, Klauke said it is critical to get the necessary infrastructure and ecosystem in place so that the first zero-emission aircraft based on hydrogen can be deployed by 2035.

"We aim to identify architecture, technology regulations, everything we need actually to make it happen and to equip the new and existing airport terminals with hydrogen for aviation," said Airbus chief technical officer Sabine Klauke at a press conference.

This will prepare for the arrival of hydrogen fuel at the airport by then, although she added that it is a "relatively complicated situation" for an airport specifically in Singapore.

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"This is really as well a chance to look at a particular situation here to assess the potential configurations for liquid hydrogen logistics, production, supply and distribution," said Klauke.

Changi Airport, one of the largest transportation hubs in the world, has "rich potential" to be a regional hydrogen hub, she added

The collaboration comes shortly after Transport Minister S Iswaran announced Singapore's plans to develop a sustainable air hub blueprint by early 2023 to chart its long-term plans.

CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan said there is a consensus that as air travel recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, it will not be a return to "business as usual".

"The international aviation system that we rebuild has to be a far more sustainable one. The question is not one of whether we do it, but a question of when and how," he said.

Under the agreement, the 4 parties will collaborate to conduct market analysis on projected aviation demand and supply for hydrogen, regional readiness as well as the commercial and technical feasibility of hydrogen adoption, CAAS said in a statement.

CAG said it will be involved in assessing the feasibility of hydrogen fuel cells in supporting airport operations as well as establishing regulations and standards for the safe adoption of hydrogen technologies.

Poh Li San, senior vice president for Terminal 5 (T5) planning at CAG, said the Covid-19 pandemic has given the airport an opportunity to potentially future-proof T5 to support hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Hydrogen is not new to aviation, and Klauke noted that Airbus had been looking at it since the early 2000s believing it to be promising, even though the technology was not mature enough.

"We are now 20 years later and we are exactly of that opinion that now we are able to use it - the technology is there," she said. "It's not yet used in aviation, it's used in other fields, but it has matured a lot, and it's about adapting it now into the aviation application."

John Panikar, executive vice president for Asia Pacific at Linde, estimated that the cost of hydrogen should come down by 2030, when it scales up with economies of scale. Production should be "well on parity" with current fossil fuels, he added.

"20 years ago, we talked about renewable energy, people said it would never be competitive. Wind and solar today, it's as, if not more, competitive. So I think if you scale up, you will see cost curves come down," said Panikar.

Separately on Tuesday, JTC - the masterplanner for Seletar Aerospace Park - and the Singapore Economic Development Board announced the signing of agreements with Skyports and Volocopter to explore how the park can support the growth of the advanced air mobility sector here.

The memorandum of understanding with London-based Skyports will draw on the vertiport developer's experience of building take-off and landing infrastructure for air taxis.

The agreement with urban air mobility pioneer Volocopter will study the feasibility of developing facilities and resources in Seletar Aerospace Park to carry out manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

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