Airports can transform into urban energy hubs. This is what emerges from a study recently published by Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CdP), the state company of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) which operates as a banking institution. In fact, the terminals respond to the request for decarbonisation, being able to produce green energy, offering spaces for the storage and supply of sustainable fuels.

The ambition is to transform airports into real tools to decarbonise not only airport activities and those of air carriers, but also the energy needs of all the assets present in the airport grounds and of all ground operations, even those access and exit from the airport.

According to the CdP study on the decarbonisation of the air transport sector, which is worth 3.8% of the Italian GDP and employs almost 1.3 million workers (considering related industries), the evolution of airport infrastructures is the main solution for reduce Co2 emissions. Designing zero-impact terminals would currently be more effective than using both alternative fuels and aircraft innovations.