As Japan prepares to launch trillions-of-yen in subsidies to support companies in building domestic hydrogen infrastructure, one interest group with an eye on the prize will likely be airports and the aviation sector.

Moves to shift some operations at Japanese airports away from fossil fuels and to hydrogen, as well as other clean energy sources, have been in motion for several years already. Several hubs are trialing hydrogen fuel cell support and cargo loading vehicles, such as forklifts.

The bigger revolution, however, is expected to come in the 2030s when aircraft themselves enter the hydrogen age. And three of the top airports in the Kansai area have now teamed up with Airbus, the world’s largest aerospace firm, to plan how to adapt to hydrogen-fueled air travel.

In part, Kansai International Airport (KIX), Osaka International Airport and Kobe Airport are simply following a global trend in their sector to build out the necessary infrastructure to support commercial hydrogen flight. However, the Kansai group also includes hydrogen engineering specialist Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), which has a history of success in both advancing new technologies for hydrogen handling and storage, as well as securing state grants.

Japan NRG reviews the airport project specifications and state of development.