A bold vision to make operations at Teesside International Airport Net Zero by 2030 has been backed.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet Members approved a Net Zero Strategy for the region at a Cabinet meeting on Friday morning (December 9).
And it included a move to ensure Teesside Airport’s buildings and infrastructure hit Net Zero before the decade is out.
Efforts to develop Sustainable Aviation Fuel in the region are well underway as talks continue with several companies. The strategy also sets out how to the airport aims to use SAF to achieve Net Zero flights by 2035 – making Teesside the UK’s first Net Zero Airport.
A study into establishing a local energy company – which included setting up solar panels on land next to the runway at the airport – was agreed by leaders in July. The airport was also the UK’s first pilot area to test hydrogen vehicles in the summer as part of the Tees Valley’s status as the country’s first Hydrogen Transport Hub.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Teesside Airport is going from strength to strength – attracting new holiday routes and bringing in new investors who are reaping the benefits of our Freeport status to create good jobs for local people.
“But our airport is also perfectly placed to gain from our strengths in hydrogen, chemical processing and our game-changing Net Zero projects.
“We’re already taking action but we want to go further. This is another massive opportunity for Teesside to literally power the national journey to Net Zero, with our airport playing a key role.”
The airport has also seen Willis Lease Finance Corporation spend more than £750,000 on hydrogen tugs, electric ground power units and solar-powered steps for its cargo and passenger handling operations.
The wider Net Zero strategy hammers down on existing Tees Valley priorities – including delivering the UK’s first decarbonised heavy industrial cluster by 2040, delivering over 4GW of hydrogen production by 2030, and establishing a large-scale carbon capture, utilisation and storage project by 2030 to create 5,500 direct jobs.
The full Tees Valley strategy can be read here: 8-Net-Zero-strategy-Digital.pdf (tvca.wpenginepowered.com)
