Hamburg Aviation to Launch Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft By 2026 – Angus Baigent

…seeks partners to build sustainable aviation fuel plants and hydrogen production infrastructures.

In this interview, Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme, Managing Editor of The Energy Republic talks to Angus Baigent, Manager of Marketing & Communications at Hamburg Aviation, about the latest trends and opportunities in the Hamburg aviation sector.

Hamburg Aviation is an agency and industry association providing support to the aviation industry in Hamburg. Its members include Airbus, and Lufthansa coupled with over 300 companies including SMEs, Research Institutes, etc. Excerpts:

TER: What are the latest trends in the Hamburg aviation sector?

Baigent: Our regional government and private sector players have the same ambition to decarbonize the aviation industry in Hamburg.

Our members are working on research and development. About 470 million euros have been invested by companies in our region specifically for research and development.

We are working on everything to make aircraft lighter such as the production of airplane materials, and wing shapes to reduce the CO2 emissions from our aviation sector.

We also believe Hydrogen is going to become an important driver in our aviation ecosystem. Our research institutions are actively engaged in liquid hydrogen development to be used on drones and aircraft.

Also, Hamburg Airport is one of the leading airports in Europe paving the way for hydrogen-powered aircraft. The infrastructures are needed to enhance the supply of liquid hydrogen.

The Hamburg and Rotterdam airports are working on establishing a flight corridor between Hamburg and Rotterdam.

We will launch the demonstration flight next year using hydrogen-powered aircraft.

We are also working on a major European-funded hydrogen project covering North, and Eastern Europe. The project consists of aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen.

But, we need partnerships. We are building our expertise and networks for industry collaboration on hydrogen infrastructures.

TER: How much has been invested in Research and Development in Hamburg’s aviation sector?

Baigent: Hamburg aviation companies are investing 470 million euros annually. While 70 million euros comes from the public sector from German national funding and EU funding.

Overall, we invest half a billion euros in research and development in the Hamburg region annually. These investments are effective and it makes Hamburg’s aviation sector compete globally.

TER: What are the key factors to drive growth in Hamburg’s aviation sector?

Baigent: Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the labor market very quickly and we are promoting AI skills in primary and university schools to enable our graduates to be able to use the skills to work in the aviation sector.

We work with Airbus and Lufthansa to train young people who are interested in working in the industry.

We are developing hydrogen, fuel cells, sustainable aviation fuel, and drones to use them in a way that is socially responsible.

Our current government is supporting the development of a sustainable aviation fuel plant in Hamburg. We will bring energy producers and aviation companies together to develop a sustainable aviation plant in Hamburg.

TER: What are the career opportunities in the Hamburg aviation sector?

Baigent: We have a job market for the aviation sector in Hamburg. There are lots of job openings, especially in large companies.

There are jobs for skilled labor such as mechanics, aircraft construction, etc. Our members are currently retraining people who are interested in working in Hamburg’s aviation sector.

There are opportunities for skilled workers to come to Hamburg to work in the aviation sector.

TER: What safety measures are put in place in Hamburg’s aviation sector?

Baigent: Our members including Airbus, Lufthansa, and all companies in our supply chain have high quality and safety standards as their first priority.

In the Hamburg aviation ecosystem, our standard is extremely high starting from the certifications to acquire an aircraft. There are standards you must meet even in the European Union.

TER: What is your outlook for Hamburg’s aviation sector in the next five years?

Baigent: We are going to make progress on hydrogen-powered aircraft. We will launch test flights using hydrogen by 2026.

We will develop the infrastructures at our airports to refuel hydrogen aircraft.

We are supporting the research and development through our research institute to develop the required expertise and technology.

We see hydrogen as a key driver and air mobility technology such as drones to make life better. There is so much going on.

TER: What are the business and global partnership opportunities available in Hamburg’s aviation sector?

Baigent: Hamburg is the leading aviation center in terms of aircraft cabins. We are a leading center for aircraft cabins and there are quite a number of opportunities available for the development of aircraft cabins in Hamburg.

There are also opportunities to develop our aviation sector around the energy sector.

We are actively looking for partners to come up with a new consortium to build aviation plants in Hamburg.

We are also seeking partnerships on everything around hydrogen production and infrastructure.

We have a funding program for companies, especially on research projects.