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3Â Â Introduction Background Electric aircraft are on the horizon. Several prototypes of general aviation and small transport electric aircraft are already flying, and it is likely that some of them will be cer- tified in the United States within 5Â years. There are many potential benefits of electric aircraft, including lower operating and maintenance costs and reduced environmental impacts. However, not all air service can be replaced by electrically powered aircraft at the short- and medium-term horizons. Indeed, todayâs batteries are heavy and less energy- dense compared with conventional aviation fuels, and hydrogen fuel cell technologies for aviation are still emerging. In certain applications (e.g., short-haul and cargo service), electric power may be more efficient than traditional power. The early short-haul electric aircraft could provide an alternative for part of the more than 50Â percent of all flights worldwide that have a flight time shorter than 3Â hours. The advent of electric aircraft offers both significant opportu- nities and disruptions for airports and their communities. Airports may have new roles to play regarding the generation, storage, and distribution of electricity and hydrogen as new energy vectors used by both airside and landside users. At the same time, electric aircraft may impact revenue from fuel sales. The aviation community needs guidance to be ready for the introduction and accommodation of electric aircraft into the airport environment. ACRP Project 03-51, âElectric Aircraft on the HorizonâAn Airport Planning Perspectiveâ aimed to research the implications of the emergence of electric aviation for airports and aviation systems and how to plan for their accommodation. A Guidebook and Toolkit were developed to provide the findings and guidance in a way that is most accessible for regular users. The Toolkit also includes an electric aircraft Assessment Tool, which processes long- term forecasts and other airport data entered by the user to compute figures on the facility requirements (e.g., electric aircraft chargers) and electricity demand useful for airside and utilities planning purposes. Who Is the Audience for the Guidebook and Toolkit? The Guidebook and Toolkit are intended to be used by all the stakeholders of electric aviation who are looking for (1) general information on electric aircraft and their evolu- tion; (2) perspectives on the emerging electric aircraft market; (3) discussions of the level of uncertainty about electric aircraft technology development and adoption; (4) guidance and trend analyses for aviation traffic forecasting purpose; (5) a summary of the potential impact of electric aircraft on airport facilities, terminal airspace, operations, planning, finances, and
4 Preparing Your Airport for Electric Aircraft and Hydrogen Technologies environmental sustainability; (6) technical resources and analyses for airside planning and design purpose; and (7) related electric industry trendsâincluding renewable and distrib- uted generation, microgrids and energy storage, and strategic electrification. Typical users will include airport operators, air traffic control towers, flight operators, ground handlers, fixed-base operators (FBOs), tenants, aircraft and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), consultancy firms, state departments of transportation, and federal agencies, but also non-traditional aviation stakeholders such as electric and utility compa- nies, industrial gases producers and distributors, and federal and state regulators of these industries. How to Use the Guidebook and the Toolkit The Guidebook provides extensive analyses on the emergence of electric aircraft and guidance on how to account for them in airport planning and design. Chapters 1 to 5 introduce airport practitioners to electric aircraft, describing the trajec- tory of electric aviation from the 1970s to the first model to be certified by a national aviation authority. The anatomy of electric aircraft is described, with a technical pre- sentation of main components and powertrain configurations. A medium-term market assessment is outlined in Chapter 4, with further details provided in Appendix A (Market Assessment: Other Segments of Electric Aircraft Value Chain) and Appendix B (Market Assessment: Model Assumptions). Chapter 5 offers a qualitative economic impact outlook. Chapter 6 evaluates and discusses the various issues related to the introduction of electric aircraft in terms of federal and state policies, including environmental regulations. The chapter provides information on the federal regulatory framework for aircraft certification, as well as perspectives on emerging policy issues regarding the resell and charge of electricity as an aviation energy vector. Chapters 7 to 9 focus on aircraft/airport compatibility, covering the potential impact of electric aviation on aviation demand and passenger traffic. Airside requirements of elec- tric aircraft are discussed with great detail regarding their operational aspects. Chapters 8 and 9 feature guidance for long-term planning purposes, especially for airport master plans and statewide aviation system plans. Appendices C to E are supplements to this part of the report. Appendix C provides technical characteristics of electric aircraft for airfield planning purposes based on known information provided by aircraft and OEMs on their experimental vehicles and future projects. Appendices D and E assess the safety implica- tions of electric aircraft operations and the need for standardization of the electric aircraft/ airport interface, respectively. Chapters 10 to 13 are about power supply requirements. Relevant electric industry trends are presented. The growth of the overall airport electric demand and the need for a smart and resilient approach to power generation and management at airports are discussed. These pages are useful for utilities planning, beyond the introduction of electric aircraft, in the context of the broader electrification of aviation facilities. Chapters 14 to 17 provide guidance for developing implementation scenarios for planning purposes, covering infrastructure upgrades, financial planning, airport scenario planning, and the integration of electric aircraft into airport master planning and statewide aviation system planning. Chapter 16 on airport scenario planning features extensive instructions for the electric aircraft Assessment Tool available in the Toolkit.
Introduction 5Â Â Appendix F summarizes the main takeaways of electric aircraft industry workshops that were held by the project team as part of ACRP Project 03-51 from November 2020 to February 2021. Accompanying this report is the Toolkit, which features a selection of narrative contents from the Guidebook, as well as an airport electricity demand Assessment Tool, a database of electric aircraft characteristics for airport planning (spreadsheets), a glossary of terms, a list of abbreviations, and an electronic library.
