Tulips to support hydrogen role in sustainable aviation

Results from Tulips are expected to contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.

Ethan Mandel 21 September 2021

Tulips to support hydrogen role in sustainable aviation

The Tulips consortium, consisting of 29 partner organisations, aims to speed up the rollout of sustainable technologies in aviation, including hydrogen.

The consortium will significantly contribute to zero emissions and zero waste airports by 2030 and climate-neutral aviation by 2050. The consortium has recently been awarded €25 million by the European Commission under the European Green Deal to develop innovations that facilitate the transition to low-carbon mobility and enhance sustainability at airports. The Tulips project will start in January 2022 and last until December 2025.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will conduct 17 demonstrator projects through collaboration. One of these projects will be the development and demonstration of a hydrogen-powered ground power unit.

One of the planned projects is developing an HGPU (Hydrogen Ground Power Unit) by zepp.solutions. A GPU is used to provide electric power to an aircraft when it is stationary on the ground. The conventional diesel engine in the GPU, which is responsible for more than a third of the total diesel consumption of ground support equipment on airfields, will be replaced with a hydrogen powertrain.

The collaboration will be at four very different airports, with input from other partners. The outcomes will be shared publicly with the aviation industry and other European airports, which would apply the Tulips concepts and technologies through practical roadmaps.

The Tulips consortium consists of 29 airports, airlines, knowledge institutes, and industrial partners and is led by Royal Schiphol Group.