Transport: ENEA-Enac project to decarbonise airports gets underway

Enac and ENEA have launched the project SAVES^[1], which deals with the integration of sustainable energy vectors, including hydrogen, into the logistics systems of the Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa airports. The two airports, managed respectively by Aeroporti di Roma and SEA Milan Airports, were selected by a specific ENEA-Enac Commission as part of a tender to identify one or more significant case studies at a national level. The project is part of a collaboration between Enac and ENEA which started in 2022.

SAVES was presented in Rome, at the Enac headquarters, during a kick-off meeting also attended by ENEA director general Giorgio Graditi, the Enac deputy director general Fabio Nicolai and the head of the ENEA Technologies and Vectors for Decarbonization Division, Viviana Cigolotti.

In the coming months the two airport managers will develop in detail the project proposal both for the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (sustainable fuels alternative to kerosene) and the introduction of hydrogen within the airports, also identifying synergies with the territory and the surrounding situations in order to be able to draw up, together with Enac and ENEA, national guidelines which could serve as future reference for airport decarbonisation projects. At the same time, initiatives and measures, both national and European, will be analysed to identify the opportunities and methods of financial support for the introduction of SAF and hydrogen in Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa.

 “Airports are complex ecosystems that can be an example of transition towards climate-neutral operations, in which renewable sources, hydrogen, sustainable mobility, storage and digitalisation must be integrated and coordinated in order to pursue decarbonisation objectives, while improving the resilience of these infrastructures, boosting competitiveness and protecting neighbouring areas", said ENEA director general Giorgio Graditi. “The collaboration with Enac intends to demonstrate the feasibility of a climate-neutral air transport system. It’s both a challenge and an opportunity for the two airports, already at the forefront of experimenting advanced technologies, which could become a reference in the aviation sector also at an international level", concluded Graditi.

 “Reconciling air transport with sustainability – pointed out Enac President Pierluigi Di Palma - is the objective we must aim for to overcome the ideological prejudice that considers the sector a big contributor to air pollution. Decarbonisation, in line with national and international objectives, is a challenging goal for truly sustainable, intermodal and green aviation. This is a path that institutions and operators must walk side by side, investing in planning and innovation. We believe SAVES can be a model of an ecosystem that goes beyond the boundaries of airports and which is replicable and scalable by other industrial systems and the communities residing in the areas in close proximity to airports".