Infrastructure and supply pathways for liquid hydrogen at airports : A technical framework for feasibility and airport master planning

Abstract

Hydrogen-powered aviation is increasingly considered a promising option for reducing aviation emissions, particularly on regional and short-haul routes. The use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as an aviation fuel offers significant environmental benefits, but its adoption and integration require the development of new infrastructure at airports, including hydrogen liquefaction facilities. This paper lays the groundwork for assessing the feasibility of onsite hydrogen liquefaction by examining the technical principles, supply chain configurations and spatial requirements of such facilities. The study starts with a comprehensive overview of hydrogen as an aviation fuel, outlines current aircraft developments and compares three LH2 supply pathways: centralised offsite liquefaction, onsite liquefaction from offsite hydrogen, and full onsite production and liquefaction. Drawing on real-world examples from operational liquefaction facilities in South Korea, the US and Canada, this paper presents a generalised layout for airport-based liquefaction facilities, detailing core liquefaction process zones and supporting systems. These zones serve as a planning tool for early-stage spatial assessments, safety zoning and integration of hydrogen liquefaction facilities with existing airport infrastructure. The layout presented in this paper is modular and scalable, allowing airports to adapt infrastructure to varying hydrogen demand and spatial constraints. While current liquefaction plants demonstrate technical feasibility and viability at scales up to 90 tons per day (TPD), this paper explores the practical challenges of implementing such infrastructure at airports. These include gaining access to gaseous hydrogen via backbone networks, energy demands, constrained land availability, safety zoning requirements and regulatory complexity. Rather than resolving these issues, the paper provides a descriptive framework to understand and assess them, supporting airport master planning and future airport feasibility studies. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.