May 21—The world's lightest gas could soon be critical to lifting off from George Bush International Airport, as Airbus, Houston officials and the Center for Houston's Future team up to study hydrogen fueling at the airport.
Airbus on Tuesday announced Houston was one of five locations in North America where it is proceeding with plans for a "hydrogen hub" as it plans for alternative-fueled passenger jets. The European aircraft builder has set a goal of having hydrogen-powered planes operational and carrying passengers by 2035.
The first step in Houston — along with Atlanta, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver — is helping identify "opportunities for and barriers to hydrogen supply, infrastructure development, and usage at the airport," Airbus officials said in a release.
Officials said the analysis is scheduled to take until March next year. Airbus, Houston and the Center for Houston's Future have signed an agreement to cooperate for the report, sharing their current and previous research.
"As we continue to expand and modernize our facilities, participating in this sustainability study is crucial," said Jim Szczesniak, the aviation director for the City of Houston. "Continuing to build a sustainable airport system will ensure a healthy future for Houston, attract top talent and businesses and demonstrate our commitment to being a responsible global citizen."
Though the announcement is only for further study, officials called the decision significant, especially as Houston transitions economically away from petrochemicals and toward cleaner power and fuel sources while maintaining its role as an energy leader.
"We see this as a large opportunity," said Brett Perlman, CEO of the Center for Houston's Future. "Our groundbreaking report on Houston as a global clean hydrogen leader demonstrates that clean hydrogen in mobility could be as significant a decarbonization opportunity as cleaning up emissions from industrial plants."
Though Airbus is calling the work at Bush a "hydrogen hub," the plans there are different and not related to the Center for Houston's Future's work on the HyVelocity Hub along the Houston Ship Channel. That project, which won $1.2 billion in federal funding, modernizes plants to produce hydrogen fuels.
At Bush, the aim is to be ready when that fuel can be fed into planes. Moving from the traditional crude oil-based fuel, however, will take years. Aside from hydrogen, airlines are testing sustainable aviation fuel — which replaces crude oil with renewable or waste materials.
That research, however, has been a very long journey. A dozen years went by from the time United Airlines, with a heavy presence in Houston, announced research into sustainable fuels and its first test of using only sustainable fuel in one engine of a flight in December 2021. The company's goal is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050.
That long runway means years more of assessment and study, but supporters say now is the time to think through the opportunities.
"Building airplanes which run on clean hydrogen may take some time, but we can begin today by looking at how we can use clean hydrogen in airport operations, such as ground equipment and public transportation so we can be ready for the future," Perlman said. "We are also seeing exciting opportunities to link clean hydrogen at IAH to the more than $100 million in existing federal funding for clean hydrogen vehicles at the Port and along the Texas Triangle."
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