“Hydrogen has huge potential in aviation,but at the start of the project we were missing the pull from other sectors to help create a global infrastructure. Now there are many more companies introducing hydrogen-fuelled trucks,trains,buses and ferries.
“This will result in a massive scale-up of hydrogen infrastructure,reducing the challenge for the aerospace sector.”
Forrest,Australia’s richest man,has become a green evangelical in the past few years despite making his billions in wealth through iron ore mining. His sincerity towards tackling climate change has faced scepticism in some quarters because of his own company’s enormous carbon footprint. It consumes hundreds of millions of litres of diesel annually and Fortescue’s iron ore is used in the vast manufacturing of steel in China.
Last month,his company completed the takeover of the battery and technology arm of Williams Formula 1 team. Through the Britain-based Williams Advanced Engineering he plans to develop battery products for Fortescue’s rail,mobile haul fleet and other heavy mining equipment in a bid to accelerate the rapid abatement of diesel usage to achieve the decarbonisation of Fortescue’s mining operations by 2030.
Forrest said the aviation industry,which is responsible for more than 2.5 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions,was headed towards its own “green revolution” through a pollution-free future.
Unlike other FFI deals,this memorandum of understanding is not a speculative hydrogen purchase deal. He said the current geopolitical issues,such as the war in Ukraine,reinforced the need to transition toward renewables.
“We are all citizens of a global world. People want to travel,reunite with family and friends and explore new places without being forced to pollute the planet,” Forrest said.
“The problem isn’t travel,the problem is how we fuel our planes and ships - all of that must turn emissions free. No greenwash,no mirage,just 100 per cent green.“
He again hit out at ongoing investment in “blue” in “brown” hydrogen – produced using natural gas and coal,saying it was “bullshit” that they were an important transition towards net zero.
“Blue hydrogen does nothing for the carbon budget and that’s if sequestration works,” he said.
“Governments around the world have poured money to develop carbon sequestration and it has failed.
Through the agreement,FFI will provide cost outlook and technology drivers on various elements of the supply chain and will build infrastructure deployment scenarios for the supply of green hydrogen to targeted airports.
Airbus will provide information on fleet energy usage,scenarios for hydrogen demand in aviation,refuelling specifications and aviation regulatory framework.