CAAS Drives Public-Private Partnership to Study Development of Hydrogen as Alternative Fuel to Realise Sustainable Aviation Vision

             Public-private partnership will be key to Singapore’s effort to make its air hub a more sustainable one. As part of this strategy, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) today signed a Cooperation Agreement with Airbus, Changi Airport Group (CAG), and Linde to study the development of hydrogen supply and infrastructure for aviation. The Cooperation Agreement was signed between Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS, Ms Sabine Klauke, Chief Technical Officer, Airbus, Mr Yam Kum Weng, Executive Vice President (Airport Development), CAG, and Mr John Panikar, Executive Vice President (Asia Pacific), Linde at the Singapore Airshow 2022.

2          The Cooperation Agreement is a result of the CAAS-Airbus Sustainable Aviation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on 18 November 2021 to work together on programmes and initiatives to support the aviation sector in meeting its decarbonisation goals.

3          Under the Cooperation Agreement, the four 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.

4          The Cooperation Agreement will also evaluate infrastructure requirements for a hydrogen airport hub, as well as electrification of airport operations with hydrogen fuel cell. The collaboration leverages on CAAS and CAG’s expertise in airport infrastructure development and Linde’s expertise in hydrogen production, processing, storage and distribution. Airbus will provide characteristics of aircraft configuration and fleet energy usage, insight on hydrogen-powered aircraft for ground operations, and data on the estimated hydrogen aircraft ramp-up at airports.

5          Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS, said, “Making sustainable aviation viable and accessible to all will require cross-sectoral collaboration and public-private partnership. As an international business, aviation and aerospace hub, Singapore is uniquely poised to foster this, as the CAAS-CAG-Airbus-Linde cooperation demonstrates. We would need to explore multiple pathways; while our immediate focus is on sustainable aviation fuel, we also need to explore longer-term alternatives such as hydrogen to better understand the potential and seize opportunities.”

6          Ms Sabine Klauke, Chief Technical Officer and Executive Member, Airbus, said, “The Asia-Pacific region will play a key role as we work towards making climate-neutral aviation a reality. By partnering with Changi Airport and with Incheon Airport, Airbus will leverage the operational and technical expertise of two of the world’s leading hubs. The studies we will carry out together reflect the need for a cross-sectoral approach, including manufacturers, airlines, regulators, airports, energy providers and academia. We need bold and coordinated action to achieve our goals.”

7          Mr Yam Kum Weng, Executive Vice President (Airport Development), CAG, said, “Sustainability is a key focus area for CAG as we strive towards making Changi Airport a sustainable air hub, with the longer-term aspiration towards net zero carbon by 2050. We look forward to this collaboration to explore innovations that enable hydrogen-powered aircraft and ground operations at Changi Airport in the future.”

8          Mr John Panikar, Executive Vice President (Asia Pacific), Linde, said, “In the past few years, industries and governments around the globe have recognized hydrogen’s role as a key enabler of the world’s transition to a zero-carbon economy. As one of the world’s leading industrial gases and engineering companies with a strong and growing presence in the region, we’re very excited to contribute with our expertise to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.”