Airbus and Avolon have announced their collaboration to explore the financing and commercialization of future hydrogen-powered aircraft. This partnership will also examine how the leasing business model could support the adoption of such technology.

Airbus introduced its ZEROe initiative in 2020, aimed at developing hydrogen-powered aircraft and the necessary ecosystem to facilitate hydrogen flight. Avolon shares this commitment to decarbonizing the aviation industry and has established itself as a thought leader in future technologies through its investments in eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace and research into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production. Avolon is also dedicated to ensuring that 75% of its fleet consists of new-technology, lower-emission aircraft by the end of 2025.

Paul Geaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Avolon, stated: “Joining the ZEROe Project marks another step in Avolon’s sustainability journey. We are excited to build on our long-standing partnership with Airbus to explore the financing and commercialization of the next generation of aircraft. Achieving hydrogen-powered commercial flight will require collaboration across a wide ecosystem, and Airbus is playing a key role in bringing partners together. While we continue to support our customers in modernizing their fleets with lower emissions aircraft, we must also look beyond to further drive our industry’s decarbonization.”

Glenn Llewellyn, Vice-President of the ZEROe Project at Airbus, commented: “Bringing industry leaders together is invaluable in addressing the challenges facing aviation. We recognize that decarbonization cannot be achieved in isolation and welcome Avolon’s expertise and global leadership in the aircraft leasing business. Collaborating to explore how the transition can be commercialized and financed for airline customers is essential for success.”