ZeroAvia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nordic energy company Fortum to explore developing hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure at airports in the region. The companies will work together with a view to building a network of zero-emission flight routes.

As part of the collaboration, ZeroAvia and Fortum will investigate the potential development of on-the-ground hydrogen infrastructure at relevant airports with the aim of removing emissions from both flights and the wider airport ecosystem. On-airport hydrogen infrastructure can also support complementary traffic from heavy duty transportation, materials handling equipment and other energy consuming systems. Any future decisions on possible investments will be made at a later stage.

Fortum is a Nordic energy company that produces and delivers clean energy, working together with industries on their decarbonisation as part of the transition to net zero societies. Fortum's core operations in the Nordics comprise efficient, CO2-free power generation as well as reliable supply of energy to private and business customers. This positions Fortum strongly to deliver the capacity required for the production of green hydrogen, a crucial ingredient for tackling aviation's climate change impact.

ZeroAvia is leading the race to deliver zero-emission engine technology for passenger and cargo-carrying commercial aircraft, with a target of certifying its engines first for nine-19 seat aircraft by 2025, followed by 40-80 seat aircraft by 2027.

With a rich vein of encouraging policies and targets for the adoption of cleaner flight, Nordic countries will be among early adopters of zero-emission flights.

ZeroAvia VP infrastructure Arnab Chatterjee says: “As hydrogen hubs, airports can help reduce climate and air quality impacts of flight and a raft of other operations. Scaling the renewable energy capacity and reducing costs pose clear but fully surmountable challenges to hydrogen as the fuel to power truly clean flights. Fortum is well positioned as a partner in this space, given the company's clean energy focus and its emerging hydrogen leadership.”

“ZeroAvia is a leader both in demonstrating clean flight and in building the model for how hydrogen refuelling will work in aviation. We believe that ZeroAvia and Fortum together can explore excellent options for clean aviation, both on the ground and in the air,” adds Fortum senior manager, hydrogen business development Torbjörn Wilén.

ZeroAvia has already demonstrated its world-first Hydrogen Airport Refuelling Ecosystem (HARE) at its R&D hub in Kemble in the UK, and is working with a range of airports on projects to establish the infrastructure and operations to operate zero-emission routes as early as 2025.