The East Midlands Airport Hydrogen Enabled Ecosystem Study examines the ecosystem of a regional airport, exploring key decarbonisation challenges in this contained, yet diverse setting.
This decarbonisation study explores the challenges and opportunities of achieving zero carbon emissions faced by airports and similar industrial clusters. Driven by the UK’s commitment to net-zero by 2050, the study developed by the University of Nottingham Energy Institute as part of the Green Futures initiative, aims to provide strategic oversight for long-term policy decisions, link regional opportunities, and share knowledge and recommendations to accelerate decarbonisation at a national level.
Our researchers collected and analysed two types of data:
Technical: Energy is at the heart of the day-to-day operations of an airport – from transporting people and goods to the airport through to the running of aircraft and air side vehicles. By understanding both the amounts of energy used and how much of it is based on fossil fuels, the study explored the magnitude of the challenge to switch from existing CO2 emitting energy carriers to next generation alternatives in electrification and hydrogen.
Social: A multi-faceted approach involved stakeholder engagement and focus groups, individual interviews on challenges and drivers, and follow-up interviews for mind mapping to gain an understanding of the social dynamics of the ecosystem, assess the effectiveness of interventions, and identify challenges and drivers for the net-zero journey.
Nora Senior, Chair of East Midlands Airport, endorsed the study, commenting,
East Midlands Freeport (EMF) is a major national initiative aimed at driving transformational levels of inward investment, innovation and economic growth into the region with a particular focus on enhancing the energy, advanced manufacturing and advanced logistics sectors. The freeport, which includes East Midlands Airport as a tax site owner and operator, recognises the critical importance of moving people and goods in, around and outside of the East Midlands by rail, road and air, while striving to achieve the ambitions of net zero emissions. To this end, research and innovation to drive the transition to a net zero economy are essential to provide direction in meeting these goals and it is to be applauded that key universities in our region are demonstrating thought leadership to deliver more impact and to accelerate change. Indeed, this driving innovation and inward investment is at the heart of EMF’s mission. For that reason, we are pleased to welcome this report developed by the University of Nottingham with whom the freeport has been in close collaboration as part of our Net Zero and Innovation objectives. We believe the findings will catalyse the creation of innovation-led growth through the provision of tools to accelerate decarbonisation across our cluster, and we support and encourage knowledge sharing that may help other, similar ecosystems at a national level.”
Professor David Grant, Director of the University of Nottingham Energy Institute commented,
Here we have an exciting project trying to understand what the current energy ecosystems surrounding East Midlands Airport requirements are to quantify the technical and social challenges in adopting hydrogen as an energy vector alongside electrification approaches. Our hope is that the findings and recommendations of this study will be noted by other airports and similar industrial clusters to accelerate decarbonisation at a national level.”
This study was funded by the Electric power Research Institute (EPRI) as part of the “East Midlands Airport Green Futures" initiative.
East Midlands Airport Hydrogen Enabled Ecosystem Study