Historic hydrogen flight to take-off from Bristol Airport

23 July 2026

The UK Government has announced that Bristol Airport will be involved in three groundbreaking projects to decarbonise flight, including the first flight of an aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen from a UK commercial airport.

The three projects are funded by the £8million Zero Emissions Flight Demonstrator Programme, run by Innovate UK and supported by the Department for Transport.

The liquid hydrogen flight will be delivered by a consortium called Cryogenic Hydrogen Optimised Systems for AviatioN (CHOSAN). Led by Badgerworks, the group will work in close collaboration with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), alongside partners Bristol Airport, Unitrove, and Weslake, to demonstrate liquid hydrogen as a viable fuel for the next generation of commercial aviation, as part of a £1.7million project.

The project will deliver a series of regional flights in a light aircraft powered by hydrogen, with the first flight taking off from Bristol Airport. It aims to demonstrate that liquid hydrogen can be used at a commercial airport. The inaugural flight is expected to take place in the next couple of years.

Bristol Airport is also supporting separate projects led by ZeroAvia and Equilibrion, which have received UK Government funding. ZeroAvia’s HyPRIME project will develop and demonstrate a mobile hydrogen refuelling vehicle capable of supporting liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft and ground support equipment.

Equilibrion will be undertaking a 12-month feasibility study, with Bristol Airport as the live airport partner. This study aims to address a vital gap in aviation infrastructure planning by examining how liquid hydrogen can be supplied, stored, and managed at Bristol Airport to support future zero-emission aircraft operations.

Commenting on the announcement, Dave Lees, CEO of Bristol Airport, said:“We’re immensely proud to be part of these three transformative projects, which aim to demonstrate zero emission commercial flights in the UK. 

Bristol Airport has a strong record of supporting innovation – we hosted the UK’s first airside hydrogen refuelling trial and our ACT Programme has funded several pioneering projects to reduce emissions. The latest projects build on this work and will move the whole industry towards developing zero carbon flight.”

Hydrogen has the potential to play a crucial role in substantially reducing the climate impact of aviation in the long term and transforming air transport in a way comparable to the impact of electric vehicles in the automotive sector. Bristol Airport is already working in a unique partnership with aerospace companies, including Airbus, GKN Aerospace, and Rolls Royce, to accelerate the delivery of hydrogen-powered flight.

ENDS

Contact: pressoffice@bristolairport.com

Notes to Editors:

Zero Emissions Flight Demonstrator (ZEFD) Programme:

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is investing over £7million from the Department of Transport. The ZEFD Programme aims to progress ambitions for zero emission aircraft to take to the skies, with eight projects being funded.

More details are on the Department for Transport website.

And all project details are here.

CHOSAN project:

CHOSAN will demonstrate the use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as a low-carbon aviation fuel through real-world flight operations, while also helping to develop the operational experience and regulatory framework needed to support LH2-fuelled aircraft at commercial airports. The project will deliver a series of point-to-point flights in a light aircraft powered by hydrogen, on regional routes starting at Bristol Airport.

HyPRIME project:

Project HyPRIME will develop, build and demonstrate a mobile hydrogen refuelling vehicle capable of supporting LH2 powered aircraft together and hydrogen-powered Ground Support Equipment and facilities applications. Demonstrated in a live airport environment, the project will analyse and document operations, procedures, costs, benefits and economic trade-offs for introduction and scaling of LH2 fuel in commercial airports.

Equilibrion project:

This project will develop a practical and evidence-based pathway for how Bristol Airport could introduce LH2 infrastructure to support future zero-emission flight. The study addresses a key sector challenge: how to translate early hydrogen trials and refuelling concepts into a dependable airport fuel system that can support future aircraft operations, regulatory decisions and investment choices. It will contribute to the long-term transition toward cleaner airport operations and lower-carbon air transport.

About Bristol Airport

Bristol Airport is England’s third largest regional airport, acting as the international gateway for the South West of England and South Wales. With more than 10.8 million passengers passing through the terminal over the past 12 months and linksto over 120 destinations, across 34 countries, more than all the other airports in the region combined, including to major hub airports for onward connections.

The Airport is currently going through a £400m upgrade, which included the construction of the £60m Public Transport Interchange and car park, now one of our region’s largest coach and bus interchanges.

We are central to our region’s economy, providing business links to European capitals and financial hubs, and bringing in hundreds of thousands of inbound visitors each year. The Bristol Airport site provides the largest number of jobs in the area, with some 5,800 people employed on-site by over 50 companies.

Bristol Airport is committed to achieving net zero airport operations by 2030. It is working in unique partnerships to reduce indirect emissions and support the development of zero emissions flight.

The Airport Carbon Transition (ACT) Programme is an annual innovation fund designed to fast-track decarbonisation and zero-emissions flight. Bristol Airport hosted Project Acorn in 2024, the UK’s first airside hydrogen refuelling trial.