At the 5th Cross-Cluster Conference in Hamburg, held on February 5th, 2025, aviation industry representatives joined forces with maritime, logistics, and port sectors to discuss the future of alternative fuels, with a particular focus on hydrogen applications across different transport modes.
The conference, which for the first time was held in conjunction with the Future Conference for Industry, Logistics and Ports, highlighted the aviation sector's commitment to energy transition and the critical role of hydrogen in achieving sustainability goals.
Aviation's Stake in Future Fuel Infrastructure
Hamburg Airport, represented by NetZero Project Manager Julian Klaaßen, emphasized the airport's proactive approach to energy transition in aviation. "Within our sphere of influence, we at Hamburg Airport are already doing everything we can to achieve an energy transition in aviation," Klaaßen stated. However, he stressed that individual efforts alone would not be sufficient to ensure the availability of hydrogen in the required quantities.
The conference revealed that liquid hydrogen (LH2) is expected to play a particularly crucial role in aviation's future, alongside heavy-duty logistics and certain shipping applications. Industry experts emphasized that the political framework for infrastructure development, especially for LH2, needs to be established promptly to avoid critical delays in implementation.
Cross-Industry Collaboration Essential
A key takeaway from the aviation perspective was the necessity of cross-sector collaboration. As Klaaßen pointed out, "As important and successful as cooperation within individual clusters may be: if we want to make a big impact, we need to find solutions that transcend industry boundaries and individual interests. The Cross Cluster Conference provides the right framework for this."
The discussion highlighted that the development of new fuel infrastructure would require coordinated efforts across industries. For aviation, this means working closely with port authorities, energy providers, and logistics companies to ensure the successful implementation of hydrogen-based solutions.
Future Challenges and Opportunities
The conference addressed several critical aspects that will impact the aviation industry's transition to alternative fuels:
1. The need for legal certainty in large-scale projects beyond legislative periods
2. The importance of optimized logistics processes for new fuels
3. Strategic decisions regarding fuel procurement versus production
4. The development of consumption centers rather than universal availability
As the aviation industry continues its path toward decarbonization, the cross-cluster dialogue demonstrates Hamburg's commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration across sectors, positioning the region as a pioneer in sustainable aviation development.
Background to the Cross-Cluster Conference Series
The Hamburg cluster agencies work closely together on cross-cutting issues with a local focus, such as questions of transport infrastructure, future energy sources, or the topic of skilled workers. The annual Hydrogen Conference is just one of their joint formats, in which they map the entire hydrogen value chain from generation to distribution to consumption in shipping, aviation and heavy-duty logistics. This year, the industry clusters were strengthened for the first time by Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V. and merged with the Future Conference for Industry, Logistics and Ports.