Air Liquide to lead hydrogen-powered airport ground technology and infrastructure project at Montreal
Athens International Airport is converting many of its vehicles to LPG (photo: AIA)
Wed 22 Apr 2009 – International gases company Air Liquide is to lead a CAN$14 million (US$11.3m) project to supply a range of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies as well as a hydrogen fuelling station at Montréal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and also at another airport at a later date. It will involve converting passenger shuttle buses as well as passenger and utility vehicles, and other hydrogen generated stationary and auxiliary power applications. Meanwhile, Athens International Airport says it has so far converted 26 company vehicles to use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with another 24 to follow shortly.
Funded by Air Liquide, the Montréal project is a collaboration between Air Liquide Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Québec’s Agence de l’efficacité énergétique (AEE), together with the involvement of 14 other companies.
Used in a fuel cell, hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to produce electricity to power the vehicle, with water as the only emission. Air Liquide will provide the hydrogen and install a station capable of refuelling several vehicles at the same time and to refill portable hydrogen tanks.
“We are very pleased, and very proud, to participate in this pilot world-leading project with Air Liquide,” said James Cherry, President and CEO of Aéroports de Montréal. “We are committed to offering all the support necessary for the success of this project; we will provide a location for the fuelling station and we will be among the most active users ourselves of hydrogen-powered vehicles.”
Air Liquide has supplied over 40 hydrogen fuelling stations around the world, enabling hydrogen-powered cars and vehicles to fill fuel tanks with pressurized hydrogen in under five minutes, says the company.
“Air Liquide’s initiative and leadership in this project represents another step in our strategy to actively develop Canada’s hydrogen energy supply and infrastructure,” said Luc Doyon, President and CEO of Air Liquide Canada. “The two buses and nine other vehicles converted to hydrogen will not emit any pollutants or greenhouse gases.”
In 2008, as part of its annual corporate action plan for climate change, Athens International Airport (AIA) started an initiative to convert its airport vehicles to using lower emission fuel and hybrid technologies. By the end of last year, 26 vehicles had been converted to use LPG instead of petrol, while the conversion of an additional 24 vehicles will follow in the coming months, reports the airport.
In addition, AIA has started replacing older vehicles with new hybrid models running on petrol or electricity. It is also planning to replace the airport’s internal transportation diesel buses with new hybrid or EEV-diesel technology (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicles).
AIA also reports that it recorded a significant increase in recycling in 2008, reaching 43% of airport non-hazardous waste (6,567 tonnes), up from 34% in 2007.
