Hamburg, December 12, 2024 – The Hydrogen Aviation Lab, a consortium project of renowned aviation stakeholders that researches refueling options for commercial aircraft with hydrogen, is the winner of the ZAL.award 2024. This was officially announced at a ceremony on Thursday at the ZAL TechCenter in Hamburg.
The Hydrogen Aviation Lab describes an Airbus A320 converted for test purposes on the grounds of Hamburg Airport, where Lufthansa Technik, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and Hamburg Airport, among others, are researching future refueling routes for commercial aircraft with hydrogen as well as the associated logistical and regulatory requirements. The project is funded by the Hamburg program “GATE” (Green Aviation Technologies).
ZAL.award was presented for the first time in 2024 by the ZAL Förderverein
The ZAL.award is presented by the ZAL Förderverein e.V. and was awarded for the first time this year. The award is intended to recognize pioneering research projects from the extended ecosystem of ZAL, the Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, and to highlight the innovative strength of Hamburg as an aviation location.
The winners of the ZAL.award were selected by an independent and diverse jury of experts. This year’s jury included:
- Carsten Laufs, SVP Product Innovation and Digitalization, Diehl Aviation
- Kathrin Haug, VP Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, Head of the Committee for Innovation and Research
- Wolfgang Borgmann, Book Author and Aviation Journalist, AERO International
- Mario Vesco, Venture Manager, Sustainable Aero Lab
- Heike Lagemann, Graduate ProTechnicale (Gap Year Program), Student TUHH
The Hydrogen Aviation Lab’s pitch, submitted by Hamburg Airport, came out on top in the final of the competition against the **“BETA” project**, an innovative hydrogen turbine technology led by Helmut Schmidt University (HSU), and the **“Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)”** project led by Dassault Systèmes, a software project for capturing a “digital twin” in aircraft development.
Jörg Manthey, First Chairman of ZAL Förderverein e.V.:
“As the ZAL Förderverein, we have played a key role in establishing ZAL as a research platform where the innovations for the aviation of tomorrow are developed. This pioneering model radiates far beyond the boundaries of our aviation location. Particularly important in this regard is the close networking of our members – from small and medium-sized enterprises to renowned aviation corporations – with major industry players, as well as close collaboration with universities and associations. With the ZAL.award, we aim to make the results of the most successful collaborations visible and provide them with a sustainable platform.”
Johannes Scharnberg, Head of Communications, Politics and Environment, Hamburg Airport:
“The Hydrogen Aviation Lab is a flagship project that extends far beyond the Hamburg location, demonstrating on a real commercial aircraft what flying with hydrogen could actually look like. I am particularly pleased that a collaborative project has been honored here, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation among multiple partners for genuine future innovations.”
