A commercial UK airport has operated using hydrogen combined heat and power for the first time, following a successful trial at Kirkwall Airport in Orkney. The hydrogen combined heat and power (CHP) unit, manufactured by 2G Energy and trialled by EMEC (both Hydrogen Scotland members), represents the first 100% hydrogen CHP installation of its kind in the country.
The combined heat and power (CHP) system used green hydrogen, supplied by EMEC, to generate electricity and recover by-product heat. The 100% hydrogen CHP unit was positioned airside at Kirkwall Airport and subsequently coupled with the airport’s existing heating system to supply heat to the main terminal building and power across the entire site.
Funded by the Scottish Government via the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and supported by work through the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) and Rural Energy Hubs projects, the trial brought together representatives from EMEC and 2G, with support from Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), which manages and operates Kirkwall Airport.
Leonore Van Velzen, Operations and Maintenance Manager at EMEC said: “This project was initially driven by an energy consumption study delivered by EMEC through the ReFLEX Orkney project, which identified key opportunities to decarbonise airport operations. Orkney is well established as a hub for energy innovation, where new technologies and their roles in delivering a future clean energy system are demonstrated.”
Working with airport ground staff, additional electrical loads were activated to test the system, allowing the CHP to supply a steady output. System performance and integration were monitored with the CHP system operating at about 60% capacity. During the trial, the CHP powered the airport terminal and runway lighting, meeting the heating demand without the need for the airport’s boilers to run.
Mark Holtmann, Managing Director at 2G said: “With over 10,000 CHP systems installed worldwide across a range of gas types, bringing our hydrogen CHP technology to Kirkwall Airport marks a significant milestone for 2G in the UK. Demonstrating how hydrogen can reliably deliver both power and heat in such a critical infrastructure setting is an important step towards decarbonising energy-intensive operations. This project showcases what’s possible when innovation and collaboration come together, and we’re proud to see 2G’s technology contributing to Scotland’s leadership in the transition to net zero aviation.”
Leonore Van Velzen added, “This trial is a great example of collaboration in action, combining EMEC’s hydrogen expertise, the technical capabilities of 2G, and the operational insight of HIAL’s airport team, specifically the airport fire service. Seeing hydrogen deployed in a live airport environment is a significant step forward in exploring practical decarbonisation solutions, and we’re proud to have supported the safe delivery of this first-of-its-kind demonstration.”
The completion of this trial marks a step toward assessing the real-world feasibility of integrating hydrogen technologies with airport infrastructure. The insights gained will contribute to wider efforts to explore low-carbon solutions across aviation and other sectors.
About SATE: The Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE), part of the Innovate UK Future Flight Challenge, is the UK’s first operationally based low-carbon aviation test centre, based at Kirkwall Airport on Orkney. Led by the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), SATE brings together a national consortium of industry partners, public sector bodies and academia which work with a range of regional businesses and stakeholders to apply state-of-the-art aviation technology to deliver targeted economic growth. The Highlands and Islands represents an ideal “living laboratory” for emergent aviation technologies, demonstrating their practical applications in addressing connectivity challenges, as well as creating an emerging new sector with significant job creation potential. SATE is at the forefront in progressing both the UK and Scottish government’s aviation aspirations and has already delivered new airport infrastructure and demonstrated hybrid-electric aircraft and autonomous logistics.
About 2G Energy: 2G Energy is a leading manufacturer of combined and heat and power plants (CHP) for the decentralised provision of power and heat on the basis of gas motors driven by natural gas, biomethane, biogas, sewage gas, landfill gas or hydrogen. The 2G portfolio includes plants with an electrical output of 20 to 2,500 kW. The customer base ranges from farming to municipalities, the housing industry, commercial enterprises, medium-sized industry and large industry to the energy sector. CHP units operating at 100% hydrogen with zero-carbon emissions is considered as the next step into a cleaner environment and 2G is the world’s first company, who has CHP units available operating with 100% hydrogen.
More news from EMEC: https://www.emec.org.uk/hydrogen-used-to-power-kirkwall-airport-in-uk-first-demonstration/
Learn more about the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE): https://sate.scot/
