A UK airport trial has generated new operational evidence that could help the global aviation industry understand how hydrogen-powered ground equipment can be introduced safely and practically, and what is needed to support wider adoption.
Led by Cranfield University, Exeter Airport and ULEMCo, the Winter Operations HyGPU project involved the operation of a converted dual-fuel ground power unit (GPU), running on a mix of hydrogen and diesel fuel. The project follows the groundbreaking Zero Carbon Turn trial at Exeter Airport in April 2025. That initial phase achieved several UK firsts when three different hydrogen-powered technologies supported the live turnaround of a TUI Boeing 737.
Across eight operational days, the HyGPU completed 15 tests lasting a total of almost six hours. It consumed 7.41kg of green hydrogen, displacing an estimated 24.23 litres of diesel and avoiding approximately 63.9kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
The report estimates that converting all seven of Exeter Airport’s existing GPUs to the same dual-fuel system could potentially save more than 11,000 litres of diesel and approximately 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.
Dr Thomas Budd, Associate Professor of Airport Decarbonisation at Cranfield University and author of the report, said: “This trial has taken us another step beyond a one-off demonstration and given us valuable operational evidence about how dual-fuel hydrogen equipment performs in winter conditions.
“The results show that the equipment can operate safely and deliver measurable reductions in diesel consumption and carbon emissions, with very little change required from the people using it.
“Although this remains a relatively modest dataset, it strengthens the evidence available to airports, regulators and equipment manufacturers as they consider where hydrogen can make the greatest contribution to decarbonisation.”
Stephen Wiltshire, Managing Director of Exeter Airport, which is part of the Regional & City Airports group, said: “The original Zero Carbon Turn project proved that different types of hydrogen-powered ground equipment could work together safely in a live airport environment. This latest study delivers on our commitment to build on that by testing the technology over a longer period and in more representative winter conditions.
“The new report gives us a much clearer indication of the potential operational and environmental benefits. It shows that converting existing equipment could provide airports with a practical way to reduce emissions while the infrastructure for fully zero-emission technologies continues to develop.
You can download the full report for the Winter Operations HyGPU project on the page for Cranfield’s Centre for Air Transport Management .
