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129  Infrastructure Upgrades 14.1 Introduction As described in the previous chapters, the total number of active electric aircraft is expected to reach approximately 2 percent of the entire U.S. aircraft fleet in 2030. The first electric aircraft will be small capacity aircraft, suitable for missions conducted by flight school or private pilots, as well as commuter aircraft. Current trends show that regional flights will be the first routes to be performed by electric aircraft, operated by air taxi companies and regional air carriers, such as Harbour Air in the Puget Sound. Regional electric aircraft above 10 to 12 passengers might be available at the 2025 horizon. Larger electric aircraft are not expected to be introduced in the market until at least 2040. Figure 60 summarizes this projected timeline of electric aircraft integration. Smaller airports are community resources, and many might be underutilized today. With the emergence of urban and regional air mobility with electric aircraft, these aviation facilities could provide point-to-point connections between communities and with larger urban centers. Some may become local multimodal transportation and cargo hubs with interconnection to buses, TNCs, and other modes. Regional electric aviation will extend to larger commercial airports as well. For instance, Cape Air, which has signed a purchase option for Eviation Alice electric aircraft, has operations at BOS and STL. 14.2 Aircraft Charging Infrastructure For electric charging of high-capacity batteries, three types of recharging solutions are feasible: ⢠Recharge by fixed ground chargers, also known as charging stations. ⢠Recharge by mobile superchargers on batteries mounted on a truck or trailer. ⢠Battery swap at the gate (batteries are recharged separately). Many commercial service airports already supply electric power at the gate with fixed 400 Hz power units connected to the grid, or air carriers and their ground handlers operate mobile GPUs. However, general aviation facilities might be the first to see electric planes because small aircraft will be the first to be electrified. Coordination with FBOs and tenants will be necessary to assess the needs and define a strategy to provide adequate charging or hydrogen refueling solutions and define their business model. 14.3 Electricity Infrastructure Because the implementation of aircraft charging stations will increase the electricity loads at an airport, the electric infrastructure has also been assessed to any upgrade. Additional infra- structure may be required to match the future demand for electric aircraft depending on the C H A P T E R  1 4
130 Preparing Your Airport for Electric Aircraft and Hydrogen Technologies existing facilities and will vary from airport to airport. The potential needs for upgrading the airport electricity infrastructure to support the future demand and ensure adequate resiliency must be planned in close collaboration with the electricity companies. In addition, on-site power generation infrastructure can be considered as an opportunity for supporting the electric aircraft demand. This solution provides more autonomy from the grid to airports. In either case, anticipating these future electric loads is essential, and airports must incorpo- rate energy providers to discuss their ability and capacity to supply electric power, to develop contingency for potential power outages, and to enhance the overall resilience of power supply. To coordinate with local utility providers, airports can use the process illustrated in Figure 61. Assessment Tool: Electric Aircraft Chargers To help airports and practitioners, the Assessment Tool prepared as part of ACRP Project 03-51 provides an estimate of the number of electric aircraft chargers required based on the aviation traffic forecast. The tool recognizes five categories of aircraft and flights: Air Carrier, Air Taxi, Commuter, General Aviation, and Military. For each category, practitioners will be able to determine the typical number of charging equipment required as well as an estimate of the impact on the electric loads. All the rationales are detailed in Chapter 16, Airport Scenario Planning, of this report. Figure 60. Realistic timeline for the implementation of electric aviation in the United States.
Infrastructure Upgrades 131  The Assessment Tool provides airports and their stakeholders with an estimate of the future power requirements of electric aircraft and the overall electrification of airports. 14.4 Hydrogen Infrastructure Hydrogen will power some electric aircraft through fuel cells. Fuel cells might be best suited for regional and larger aircraft. However, this technology has been implemented on some experimental smaller aircraft types as wellâincluding motor gliders and two-seaters. The main limitation is the availability of hydrogen at airports. Three types of refueling solutions are being considered: ⢠Aircraft refueling by fueling truck (tanker). ⢠Aircraft hydrogen container swap. ⢠Aircraft refueling from a hydrant system. Although hydrogen and Jet-A have different physical and chemical properties, the overall process of supplying, storing, and fueling gaseous hydrogen at the airport will be relatively similar to existing aviation fuel supply chains. There is no adequate infrastructure today to deliver large quantities of hydrogen to aircraft. In the short term, it is very likely that aircraft will be refueled with hydrogen through fueling trucks or special containers or pods. Hydrogen pipelines and hydrant systems could emerge at some large hub airports in the future, especially if this gas becomes a popular energy vector for other transportation modes and applications. Figure 61. Utility coordination process.
