Sustainable aviation: A work in progress
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Airport World takes a closer look at some of the sustainability stories making headlines across globe in the first quarter of the year.
Ambitious daa unveils environmental sustainability initiatives
Irish airport operator, daa, has unveiled a 20-point plan to “accelerate its environmental sustainability ambitions” at Dublin (DUB) and Cork (ORK) airports and ensure that it achieves net zero emissions by 2050.
The sustainability initiatives include Making Dublin Airport diesel free, with all owned vehicles previously powered by diesel switching to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO); the light vehicle fleets at both DUB and ORK being 100% electric by the end of 2024; and the submission of a planning application for a 1.8 million-kilowatt solar farm at Cork.
CEO, Kenny Jacobs, also revealed that daa is committed to improving air quality at bus stations at both DUB and ORK with innovative photobioreactor technology; fast-tracking a shared bikes projects at Dublin Airport; the completion of work on over 20 additional electric vehicle parking spaces at DUB; installing energy-efficient LED apron lighting at Cork Airport; and new interventions to increase rainwater harvesting, water reuse and the earlier detection of water leaks.
Central to its goals are reducing its own (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions at the gateways and promise of working hand-in-hand with the airlines and other companies in the aviation sector to reduce the environmental impact of their operations (Scope 3 emissions).
“Sustainability sits at the heart of everything that daa is doing and has planned for the years ahead,” stated Jacobs. “The 20 projects align with our commitment to meet Ireland’s ongoing international connectivity needs while ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable growth.
“With a wide range of projects already planned for this year, we are dedicated to fast-tracking our achievement of net-zero by 2050 at the latest.”
Largest single-site rooftop solar panel system in Singapore
A new solar photovoltaic (PV) system is to be installed on the rooftop areas of Singapore Changi’s terminal buildings, terminal auxiliary structures, airfield and cargo buildings.
The new sustainability friendly addition will be designed, built, owned and operated by Keppel Ltd for 25 years when it is completed in early 2025.
When up and running, the solar PV system will have a combined generation capacity of 43 Mega-Watt peak (MWp), of which 38 MWp will be installed on rooftops, making this Singapore’s largest single-site rooftop solar PV system.
The remaining 5 MWp of solar generation capacity will come from a solar PV system installed at a 40,000sqm turf area within Changi Airport’s airfield outside of aircraft operational areas.
This will be the first time a solar PV system is installed on Changi’s airfield – marking the first step towards maximising solar potential at Changi Airport beyond conventional rooftop spaces.
Combined, the rooftop and airfield solar PV systems are expected to generate sufficient solar energy equal to what is needed to power more than 10,000 four-room HDB flats yearly.
With the system, CAG will reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 20,000 tonnes each year, or about 10% of its consumption in 2019.
Koh Ming Sue, CAG’s executive vice president for engineering and development, said: “Notwithstanding Singapore’s limitations with renewable energy sources, CAG strives to make Changi a more sustainable aviation hub through reducing carbon footprint from all practical fronts.
“We have been addressing the airport’s energy demands at its core, which includes upgrading our frontline airport building and systems with best-in-class energy efficient models and expanding our support for the airport community to switch to cleaner energy vehicles.”
Cannes and Saint-Tropez airports to stop using diesel vehicles
Cannes-Mandelieu and Golfe de Saint-Tropez airports in France have announced that they plan abandoning diesel vehicles to reduce their joint emissions by more than 50 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The Côte d’Azur airports state that any internal combustion vehicle that cannot be converted to fully electric engines will now be fuelled with biodiesel, which will result in reducing CO2 emissions by 80% over their lifecycle.
Fire engines, refuelling lorries, farm machinery, and the auxiliary power units used to supply electricity to aircraft on stopovers are already fuelled with biodiesel at Cannes-Mandelieu Airport.
This fuel, called ‘HVO 100’, is produced from waste products such as used edible oils, animal fats and by-products from the paper-pulp sector.
Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur says that this is the only internationally recognised biofuel that can be used on its own and meets the EN 15940 standard.
The two gateways already hold Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 4+ ‘Transition’ status in the only institutionally-endorsed, global carbon management certification programme for airports.
For Cannes-Mandelieu airport, which uses 20,000 litres of diesel each year, the switch to biodiesel represents a further saving of 42 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, as one litre of diesel emits 2.67 kg of CO2. This volume represents half of the residual emissions from the airport.
This new contribution to Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s decarbonisation policy extends the environmental gains already made by electrifying compatible vehicles and all ground handling operations, installing anti-smog boxes which reduce the fine particle emissions of combustion vehicles by more than 80%, and removing the gas boilers used to regulate the temperature in the terminals.
“No effort should be spared to reduce the carbon footprint of our activities in our region,” says Franck Goldnadel, chairman of the Board of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur. “Our roadmap is clear, and we are committed to achieving neutrality by 2030.”
Phnom Penh International Airport achieves new carbon reduction milestone
Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) in Cambodia has provided further evidence of its green credentials by achieving Level 3 ‘Optimisation’ certification in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
The programme requires the monitoring of the airport carbon footprint and the implementation of actions to reduce the footprint over the years.
To achieve its targets, PNH has invested heavily in highly efficient chiller systems for the central air conditioning, replaced all light sources with LED technologies, and or reduced the use of diesel ground generators.
Operator, Cambodia Airports, notes that the upgrade to Level 3 resulted from it convincing third parties, such as restaurants, fuel suppliers and the airlines to get onboard with the programme and help it further reduce the gateway’s carbon footprint.
On another front, Cambodia Airports has deployed a comprehensive programme aimed at improving its waste management, streamlining water consumption, and protecting natural resources and biodiversity.
These efforts include the building of a waste sorting facility to recover recyclable waste, and the replacement of waste bins to promote waste segregation at source.
Cyril Girot, CEO of Cambodia Airports, said: “Being a pioneer and a leader in environmental actions is a key strategy for Cambodia Airports, powered by VINCI Airports.
“Doubling down the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, Phnom Penh Airport has successfully been certified ISO 14001 in December 2023. The achievements demonstrate our strong commitment to coping with the challenges of global climate change.”
Avinor and Swedavia sign hydrogen aviation MoU
Swedavia, Airbus, Avinor, SAS and Vattenfall have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to develop infrastructure for hydrogen aviation at airports in Sweden and Norway.
The goal of the collaboration is to, through a preliminary study on hydrogen, develop a framework and review the conditions for a possible rollout of hydrogen-powered aviation in both countries. The framework will cover the entire chain, from production and transport to storage and hydrogen refuelling at commercial airports.
Test flights are already being conducted with hydrogen-powered aircraft and the goal is to achieve commercial viability for larger hydrogen aircraft by 2035.