Hydrogen in Airports – A Distant Future or a Reality of the Coming Years?

Tallinn Airport is participating in the international BSR HyAirport project, which aims to lay the groundwork for introducing hydrogen infrastructure in aviation across the Baltic Sea region.

On June 11–12, a project partner meeting took place in Tallinn. The two-day event was hosted by Tallinn Airport and brought together project partners, working group leaders, legal experts, and regional stakeholders to share progress, align priorities, and plan the next phases of the project. Experts from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania discussed hydrogen supply chains, refueling solutions, legislative challenges, and future opportunities.

One of the key outcomes was a comprehensive legal analysis by Eversheds, highlighting regulatory barriers and concluding that with targeted and consistent work, hydrogen adoption in airports is feasible once the necessary infrastructure is in place. The report also identified airports where implementation would be both logical and possible in the near term.

Thanks to strong cross-border and cross-sectoral cooperation, the meeting in Tallinn marked an important milestone for the BSR HyAirport project. The knowledge shared and decisions made during the event will guide the transition to the next project phase, which will focus on pilot activities, continued stakeholder collaboration, and strengthening the regulatory framework for hydrogen aviation in the region.

As the aviation sector moves steadily towards climate neutrality—a goal that demands new knowledge and technologies—the BSR HyAirport project serves as a model for cross-border collaboration, technological innovation, and strategic foresight.

Tallinn Airport was represented in the project by Margarita Burunova, Construction Project Manager in the Infrastructure Development Department. Margarita recently defended her Master’s thesis at TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology, focusing on hydrogen and the goals of the BSR HyAirport project. In her thesis, titled “Hydrogen Supply Solutions at Tallinn Airport: Scenario Comparison and Analysis,” she modeled hydrogen demand, assessed technical and economic scenarios, and identified a hybrid production solution (solar park + renewable grid) as the most suitable option, aligning with both EU funding mechanisms (LIFE, CEF) and the airport’s long-term strategy.

Read more about the project here: https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/bsr-hyairport/

The project is funded by the European Union’s Interreg programme.