Testing ground for innovation
Getting ahead requires new perspectives, fresh ideas, and different insights so that what seems impossible today ultimately becomes reality. We are faced with the task of significantly reducing our carbon footprint so that air travel remains possible for us and future generations. As part of the aviation world, we are proactively pursuing innovation, with climate-neutral flying as a dot on the horizon. In the near future, innovation will no longer be a goal in itself but a matter of course.

Innovation and connection
We believe in the power of innovation and connection. That is why we see ourselves, in collaboration with all Schiphol Group airports, as an international testing ground for sustainable and high-quality innovations in the aviation sector. Due to the small scale of our airport and our relationships with universities, schools, and innovative companies, we can experiment quickly and efficiently and implement innovations in the wake of success. In order to initiate and maintain innovative cross-fertilisation, people with good ideas are always welcome at our airport.

Collaboration with the RHIA Foundation
We work closely with the Rotterdam The Hague Innovation Airport Foundation (RHIA). RHIA is our initiative in collaboration with the municipality of Rotterdam. Together, we work on virtual Airport Technology labs and the Next Aviation Fieldlab. We do this together with TU Delft and other partners. For example, we are conducting research into hybrid and electric/hydrogen flying and taxiing. We are also jointly preparing a pilot installation for synthetic fuel to enable the production of small quantities of sustainable kerosene.

The Zenid project
In collaboration with SkyNRG (leader in SAF), Climeworks (leader in direct air capture of CO2), renewable energy company Uniper, and the RHIA Foundation, we are working on the Zenid project: a demonstration plant for the production of the world’s first kerosene made from CO2 from air, water, and renewable electricity. We are looking at the feasibility of such a pilot installation at our airport or at another location. With Zenid, we want to do our part to ensure that aviation and its suppliers are part of a carbon-free economy and society in the future!

The project is a follow-up to the pre-study conducted in 2019. Zenid is supported by the partners who also collaborated on this pre-study: EDL, Sunfire, Ineratec, and Urban Crossovers

Please watch the video for more information about this project.

Power Up
Together with Eindhoven Airport and Groningen Airport Eelde, we are going to test electric flying. The trial is supported by Royal Schiphol Group and NLR – Royal Dutch Aerospace Centre. In the joint learning environment Power Up, the goal for the airports is to gain knowledge of the feasibility, potential, and handling of electric flights. The test results will be used for research into scheduled flights with electric aircraft within Europe in order to connect regions and create a finely-meshed network. The first electric passenger flights between airports in the Netherlands are expected to take place within five years.

Watch the video for a brief summary of the project.