Madrid, 29 February 2024 (AESA)

The State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) participated yesterday in the first General Assembly of the Alliance for Green Hydrogen in Aviation (AH2A) held at the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

During the inauguration of this first General Assembly, in which the director of AESA, Montserrat Mestres, the Secretary General of Air and Maritime Transport, Benito Núñez Quintanilla, was present, he highlighted his commitment to the deployment of green hydrogen as a “strategic pillar in the decarbonisation of all sectors of our country, and especially in air transport, where energy alternatives are more limited”. Benito Núñez pointed out the need to align the objectives and commitments of decarbonisation with the future of the air sector and the connectivity of the country, highlighting the role of hydrogen within the strategy of energy efficiency and implementation of sustainable fuels (SAF).

The head of Air and Maritime Transport said that the deployment of green hydrogen is a major challenge, requiring a complex and extensive transformation of the sector. “The massive use of them in our airports is not only a technological challenge, but also an operational and regulatory challenge, which does not only affect transport,” he added.

Benito Núñez also stressed the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and between the different actors, from administrations and producers, to end-users

Green Hydrogen Alliance

The Alliance for Green Hydrogen in Aviation (AH2A), created with the aim of promoting the deployment and consolidation of green hydrogen as an energy carrier for air transport, is one year old and has held its first General Assembly to present the progress achieved in identifying challenges and opportunities for the energy transition and sustainability of the air sector in Spain.

The Assembly, which has had the presence of more than 60 professionals in the sector, has highlighted the progress made within the working groups that make up the Alliance and have also identified the tasks that will need to be addressed in the coming months. And it has made a positive assessment of its first year of life and in what is only a small step in a long road, with ambitious objectives still in the medium and long term.

It has also served to reaffirm the commitment of the Ministry and the different entities involved in the achievement of these objectives, now focused on the definition of the main lines of work for the following year and each of the working groups: production and logistics, airports, synthetic fuels (efuels) and aircraft technology.

Promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the Protocol for the Alliance for Green Hydrogen in Aviation was signed in January 2023 and consists of a dozen institutions and companies in the aviation and energy sectors. Its objective is the promotion of the use of green hydrogen in aviation and the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, through cooperation and coordination mechanisms between the members to deploy and consolidate hydrogen as the energy vector of air transport.

The Alliance for the Use of Green Hydrogen in Aviation is promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the airport manager Aena, the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the Association of Air Lines (ALA), the Spanish Association of Defense, Safety, Aeronautics and Space Companies (TEDAE), the Spanish Association of Oil Products Operators (AOP). the National Hydrogen Center (CNH2), Gasnam-Neutral Transport, the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), the Spanish Aerospace Technology Platform (PAE) and the Spanish Hydrogen Technology Platform (PTeH2).