Green H2 from Fortescue to reach aviation under deal with Universal Hydrogen

Australia's Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), the green arm of Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG), has inked a pact to supply green hydrogen to US-based Universal Hydrogen for use in the aviation industry.

The duo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering hydrogen deliveries to Universal Hydrogen for the regional and other aviation sectors until 2035. The Australian company said on Tuesday that the agreement also sets the stage for conducting a joint scoping study for developing green hydrogen production and logistics hubs in Iceland, New Zealand and Southeast Queensland.

As part of their cooperation, FFI and Universal Hydrogen will evaluate the future demand for green hydrogen in the aviation industry on a regional basis and will seek to promote its adoption and uptake across the sector.

"This agreement will help ensure that we have adequate supply of green hydrogen globally to fuel not only regional aviation in the 2020s, but to support the entry into service of a hydrogen single aisle airplane in the 2030s,” said Universal Hydrogen CEO’s Paul Eremenko.

Universal Hydrogen, in which FFI is an early investor, has developed a modular capsule technology for transporting hydrogen for the purposes of aviation. Its goal is to facilitate the adoption of hydrogen-powered commercial flights and to enable passenger and cargo planes to fly on hydrogen. The first test flight of its technology is scheduled for 2022.

The aviation industry is responsible for 2.5% of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As new climate targets are set globally, demand for green hydrogen is expected to grow “exponentially,” pointed out FFI’s CEO Julie Shuttleworth.

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