French airports operator Groupe ADP, which runs Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and manages airport properties globally, has formed a joint venture (JV) company with Paris-based Air Liquide to provide engineering and consulting services to prepare airports to support hydrogen-electric flights.

The introduction of such flights would require the development of infrastructure and systems for storing and moving liquid hydrogen, which would need to be readily available to aircraft at airports.

The JV—dubbed Hydrogen Airport by the collaborating companies—is “targeting a global market, with initial business development efforts focused on approximately 200 international and regional airports of a given critical size located in current or future hydrogen hubs,” Groupe ADP and Air Liquide say in a joint statement. The companies point to North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific as regions likely to be served by hydrogen-electric flights emitting water vapor by the next decade.

The companies add: “In the framework of this joint venture, Air Liquide brings its expertise in hydrogen, which ranges from the production of renewable or low-carbon hydrogen, to liquefaction, storage and the distribution of hydrogen for aircraft. Groupe ADP contributes its expertise in airport infrastructure and operations.”

The companies say the JV follows from feasibility studies on hydrogen-electric flights carried out by Airbus in 2021 in conjunction with a number of companies, including Groupe ADP.

The JV aims to assist airports in preparing for and managing “all the challenges of integrating hydrogen energy,” Groupe ADP and Air Liquide say. Services will include estimating the volumes of liquid hydrogen to be required at a given airport over time.

Hydrogen Airport will also focus on “the optimization of logistics based on the specific requirements of [each] airport and its location.” Other services will include safety studies and cost analysis.

Matthieu Piron, who has been a Groupe ADP executive for nearly a decade, will head Hydrogen Airport, serving as the JV's general manager.