A world first tonight for Groningen Airport Eelde. The first hydrogen-powered Ground Power Unit (GPU) has been unveiled at the regional airport. This is a generator that supplies aircraft with power on the ground. Currently, mainly diesel generators are used at airports.
According to director Meiltje de Groot, this is an important step towards making the airport more sustainable, starting with ground handling. “It saves a lot of environmental impact if you can replace the diesel in these devices with hydrogen,” she says proudly.
According to the airport director, there is no airport anywhere else in the world that is ready to have a Ground Power Unit (GPU) that runs on hydrogen. “Schiphol has about two hundred of those diesel generators, which are making the switch to electric. But the advantage of ours on hydrogen is that the generator is the same on the outside. The buttons and cables are in the same place everywhere. the ease of use is better. Because the people who have to work with it are creatures of habit. The interior is only adapted for hydrogen, but the rest is the same.”
A hydrogen-powered generator is also more economical to use and offers more security of supply than an electric one, says De Groot. “If an aircraft lands here, it must be powered up quickly, and then it must be full. With hydrogen you know for sure.”
She is proud of the new acquisition, which the regional airport has been able to develop with a subsidy from the province of Drenthe and Europe. According to her, other airports have already shown interest in the hydrogen generator. According to research by the University of Groningen, the GPUs at airports are responsible for ten percent of the total aviation emissions. Replacing polluting equipment on the ground is a small step towards cleaner aviation.
(text continues below the photo)