For the first time, a hydrogen-powered baggage tug is being used at Hamburg Airport. The converted vehicle is being tested under real-world conditions as part of the North German Living Lab – a potential path toward CO2-free airport mobility.
Hamburg Airport has recently begun testing a hydrogen-powered baggage tug in daily operations. The vehicle was converted by the company HTM Hydro Technology Motors based on an existing natural gas-powered tug of the type Mulag 4CNG. The test is part of the energy transition joint project North German Living Lab (NRL), in which the airport is involved as an associated partner.
The conversion was carried out by installing a hydrogen combustion engine in combination with an electric drive system. This made it possible to continue using an existing vehicle without the need for a new purchase. Refueling is carried out via a mobile hydrogen refueling unit from the company Ryze Power, located directly on the airport premises.
The test operation is scheduled to last six to nine months and is deliberately taking place during the summer months in order to test the vehicle under high workload. The aim is to assess the practical suitability of the technology in real airport operations. The results are to be incorporated into the airport’s climate strategy “Net Zero 2035,” which aims for a complete reduction of CO2 emissions from the operation of buildings, facilities and vehicles.
Technical and economic evaluations accompany the test phase. A master’s thesis at the Competence Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) is examining the project within the framework of the NRL. The NRL’s “Mobility” working group is also involved.
Janne Schrieber, project manager at hySOLUTIONS and deputy head of Working Group 7 “Mobility” in the NRL, emphasizes: “Practical tests like the one at Hamburg Airport are essential, because they – in the spirit of a ‘living lab’ – contribute valuable experience from real-world operations and feed into the joint discussion.”
As early as 2019, a hydrogen-powered tug with a fuel cell drive was tested at Hamburg Airport as part of the predecessor project NEW 4.0. The vehicle, developed jointly with Mulag, was later also tested at the airports in Bristol and Riga. The results of both test series are intended to serve as a basis for decision-making for airports in Europe in the future, to help them select suitable zero-emission drive technologies for ground operations.
