Australia’s Pre-eminent National Science Organization Opportunities for hydrogen in commercial aviation Citation Acknowledgments Bruce S, Temminghoff M, Hayward J, Palfreyman D, CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Munnings C, Burke N, Creasey S (2020) lands that we live and work on across Australia and Opportunities for hydrogen in aviation. CSIRO. pays its respect to Elders past and present. CSIRO recognizes that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Copyright peoples have made and will continue to make extraordinary contributions to all aspects of Australian © Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research life including culture, economy and science. Organisation 2020. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved, and no part of this publication covered Special thank you to our colleagues at CSIRO and by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or Boeing who provided invaluable contributions to by any means except with the written permission of CSIRO. the report including draft reviews: Chris Kettering (Boeing), Shravan Singh (CSIRO), Michael Anderson Disclaimer (Boeing), James Deverell (CSIRO), Jim Patel (CSIRO), Valerie Sage (CSIRO), Dave Krug (Boeing), Dale Smith CSIRO advises that the information contained in this (Boeing), Mike DeLaChapelle (Boeing), Chris Knight publication comprises general statements based on (CSIRO), Sam Behrens (CSIRO), Dietmar Tourbier scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to (CSIRO), Scott McGarry (CSIRO), Paul Feron (CSIRO), be aware that such information may be incomplete or Patrick Hartley (CSIRO), Marita Niemelae (CSIRO), unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance Vivek Srinivasan (CSIRO), Elizabeth Schmidt (CSIRO), or actions must therefore be made on that information Sebastian Charnock (CSIRO), Beni Delaval (CSIRO), without seeking prior expert professional, scientific Jim Kinder (Boeing), Marty Bradley (Boeing), and technical advice. To the extent permitted by Steven Baughcum (Boeing) and Sean Newsum (Boeing). law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, Special thank you also to industry specialists including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, Steve Csonka (CAAFI) and Ranath Fernando (Qantas) expenses and any other compensation, arising directly for the insights provided. or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. We are grateful for the time and input of the stakeholders from industry, government, academia who CSIRO is committed to providing web accessible were consulted throughout this project. A full list of content wherever possible. If you are having stakeholders consulted may be found in Appendix C. difficulties with accessing this document, please contact [email protected] CSIRO Foreword The global aviation industry has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic on a scale not seen in its century of operation. But while many fleets of aircraft are grounded and travel is postponed, the industry has a unique opportunity to change its path when travel begins to return. Achieving meaningful emissions reduction in Australia will depend on us following the global market trend towards zero-emissions energy across all sectors, including sustainable transport. This report charts a new course for aviation to soar towards its emissions targets with hydrogen. As the national science agency, CSIRO has already This report takes a long-term view of recovery and been using innovative science and technology to solve prosperity for the sector by identifying decarbonisation challenges both across the aviation industry and to kick- opportunities that are available to us now and into the start an Australian hydrogen industry. Working with future. Through sustained partnerships – such as the many partners, our research has spanned publishing a thirty-year relationship we have with Boeing – we’re able pioneering biofuels report, developing innovative coatings to explore these concepts more deeply. Our collective technology for aircraft, and now in new areas including goals are to foster innovation, fast-track the deployment space technologies. In hydrogen, CSIRO recognises of emerging technologies and, in this case, provide Australia is exceptionally well placed to act early, with a way forward for a sustainable aviation industry. vast energy resources which can support other nations’ International leadership is critical to connect key players efforts to transition to lower-emissions alternatives. and capabilities across the value chain, and our customer This is where science delivers results – hydrogen energy collaborations help to frame this dialogue and develop systems can form the basis of a new export industry in a path for hydrogen, both in Australia and globally. Australia, as well as help the world navigate this energy market transition. Last year we also welcomed a National Collaboration will see large-scale and interconnected Hydrogen Strategy to guide the nation’s efforts. hydrogen value chains unfold, and CSIRO is the natural bridge connecting industry with the research The growing hydrogen industry is dependent on many community to deliver expert advice, technology, factors, including increasing technology maturity, innovation, engineering and prototyping. Our research significant reductions in the cost of renewable and partnerships will enable science and technology to energy and the growing acceptance of its potential support the development of a whole new sustainable to achieve deep decarbonisation. Until now, the and resilient industry that supports a green recovery. challenges with transitioning hydrogen from the lab to commercial reality have largely been related Dr Larry Marshall to economics and infrastructure. This meant that, Chief Executive for a long time, hydrogen energy applications have CSIRO remained in the realm of research and development. But in 2018, a small CSIRO pilot plant in Queensland, Australia, refuelled fuel cell cars using high-purity hydrogen sourced from ammonia, for the first time. With early attention given to fuel cell vehicles and electricity generation, we can now broaden our focus to impacts in the aviation sector. Costs have come down, technologies have matured, and global economies are asking questions – so now’s the time for rapid scale-up. i ii Opportunities for hydrogen in commercial aviation Boeing Foreword For over a century, innovation and technology have enabled aviation growth. Boeing is committed to building a more sustainable future for our industry and our planet, and we, along with the broader aviation sector, are committed to achieving the aviation industry goal of halving CO2 net emissions by 2050 relative to 2005 levels. Science and technology continue to play a key role in From using green hydrogen in the production of sustainable ensuring the long term sustainability of our business, and fuels, to enabling the production of electrofuels, to we are proud to continue our 30-year relationship with using hydrogen as a fuel, this report demonstrates CSIRO, one of our most innovative and trusted partners. several options for further research and exploration. Our many successes include collaborations across robotics and automation, artificial intelligence, and the development We hope this analysis sheds light on the of novel materials for niche and extreme environments. numerous opportunities and helps prioritize the enabling investments to be made by industry, In 2018 CSIRO published its National Hydrogen Roadmap research institutes and governments. which served as a blueprint for the development of the hydrogen industry in Australia, and we thank them for We look forward to collaborating further with the extending this analysis to the global aviation sector. industry to enable sustainable aviation growth for all. Boeing has made significant improvements in Michael Edwards efficiency and reducing emissions from our products. General Manager However, we also recognize that sustainable aviation Boeing Australia fuels are a necessary contributor to the decarbonisation of aviation and are committed to furthering their development. We expect it will take multiple solutions to decarbonize our fuel supply. With strong developments in the hydrogen industry in recent years, there is now a distinct opportunity for hydrogen technologies to contribute to the aviation sector energy transition across different elements of the value chain. iii iv Opportunities for hydrogen in commercial aviation Contents 1 Executive summary .............................................................................................................................1 2 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Commercial aviation sector trends ........................................................................................................................9 2.2 Applications for hydrogen in commercial aviation ............................................................................................10 2.3 Analysis approach .................................................................................................................................................12 3 On/adjacent airport applications ..............................................................................................15 3.1 On-airport applications ........................................................................................................................................15