Gloucestershire Airport to Trial Green Hydrogen Refuelling

Gloucestershire Airport is set to join Project Heart, a green fuel initiative which will see a green hydrogen refuelling facility built on site.

The project, an initiative to create, store, and distribute green fuel, is a collaboration between Protium, Haskel, and Nel Hydrogen.

Though Project Heart will initially focus on smaller aircraft with a range of 500 miles and a capacity of between 9 and 19 passengers, it is hoped that the fuel will one day be used for larger passenger planes.

Gloucestershire airport, who according to Haskel’s hydrogen business development manager Jake Martin, have been “leading the charge” in hydrogen for innovation.

He continued: “We are developing hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for future fuel cell electric propulsion aircraft. So this is aircraft that will utilise fuel cells that are driven by the hydrogen molecule.

Heart will determine the optimal methods for safely commercially producing hydrogen, storing it and distributing it at the airport.

“This is an electrolysis process, where we essentially get water and then we crack the molecule to give us hydrogen and oxygen.

“We then generate hydrogen at the site, store it and then it’s going to be utilised in a fuel cell, essentially pushing the hydrogen and oxygen together, creating energy, which will then power electric motors on the plane. ”

Hydrogen production at the facility is expected to commence in 2024.