Hamburg Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the operation of a hydrogen-powered aircraft between the two cities. The airports also plan to develop a hydrogen infrastructure and conduct research on other sustainable technologies such as digitized airports, renewable energy production, employee training, and smart technologies. Hamburg Airport aims to achieve zero CO₂ emissions by 2035, making the hydrogen flight route an important step towards sustainable aviation. The partnership between Hamburg and Rotterdam, both centers of aviation research in hydrogen, is seen as ideal for advancing carbon-neutral flying. The target date of 2035 is considered ambitious compared to the UN aviation organization’s goal of achieving zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. However, the German aviation industry has shown that it is possible to achieve climate-neutral flying by 2050, with the introduction of short-haul aircraft with hybrid engines by 2025 and the addition of sustainable aviation fuel to kerosene by 2030. The Hamburg and Rotterdam airports aim to have the first hydrogen-powered aircraft operational by 2031, four years ahead of the UN target.
