Hydrogen-powered Aviation

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for North Somerset (Sadik Al-Hassan) for leading the debate and setting the scene so well. It is a pleasure to see the Minister and shadow Minister in their places. I look forward to the Minister’s response and helpful answers to our questions, to ensure we are encouraged by this debate that benefits will come to our constituencies.

Hydrogen is an alternative that is becoming more widely explored. There is no doubt it could and must play a part in the UK’s contribution to net zero targets. The ultimate secret to reaching net zero targets is how to do so without adversely impacting our constituents. I am not a sceptic—I never have been. Some people might be sceptics, but I am not one of them. I recognise the importance of meeting the targets, and hydrogen is one way to do that. Alternative forms of energy are being used in many transport paths, so it is important that we are here today to discuss the progression of our aviation industry.

I want to mention some of the things that are happening in Northern Ireland. Undoubtedly, a progression to hydrogen rather than fossil fuels has its benefits in terms of the transport industry. There are zero carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen is attractive for long-haul flights and has faster refuelling mechanisms. Of course, cost implications are very important as we move forward. Any new technology is always costly at the start, but as it gets easier to do, the cost implications reduce. At this moment in time the implications are incredibly large. Airports across the UK will require massive infrastructure upgrades. Most planes will require to be redesigned with larger storage capacity and the freezing temperature of hydrogen must be considered, so there are cost implications there. But for every airport across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, we can do it better together.

Companies across the UK such as Airbus, easyJet, Boeing and Wrightbus in NI have looked at and announced plans for hydrogen-powered aircraft and other modes of transport. We just need to look at the transition that was made back home in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus in Ballymena, who developed a green hydrogen production facility capable of powering up to 300 hydrogen buses daily. It has taken some time to get there, but it was on the cusp of something new, and I understand that now almost every bus in London is a Wrightbus, with potentially more across the country. Furthermore, Airbus has announced plans for a hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035. That is another indication of the timeline. easyJet successfully tested a hydrogen combustion engine in 2022. There have been many advances—small steps now, but great steps for the future as we look forward.

We have spoken a lot today about the importance of our aviation and aerospace sector to the economy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. When we look at transforming capabilities for the future, the key word is investment, so I am keen to get the Minister’s thoughts on how he sees that investment happening with all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the beneficiaries of that. We are very fortunate to have a Minister in place who is a friend of Northern Ireland and who regularly visits. He has had discussions with the Minister back home at the Assembly to formulate ideas and move forward positively and constructively.

The key phrase is investment in the sector. I look at companies such as Spirit AeroSystems in Belfast and in my constituency of Strangford, which offers world-class aerospace engineering capabilities but is in the middle of a “buyover” that guarantees nothing for Northern Irish jobs. In the Chamber last week, when I had an opportunity to ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade about this, they were agreeable to the idea of meeting unions and people who could “buy over” to ensure the continuity of jobs across Northern Ireland. How can we possibly talk about investing in companies like this but offer nothing to preserve the future? It is really important that we get it all together in the right way. Perhaps this is a reminder to the relevant Ministers that issues like this will not go away, and that Government intervention to protect the future of our aviation sector is imperative.

There are roles in which all companies across the United Kingdom can play a part, small to large. All of us have a role to play. Some are more critical, but all of them are very helpful. For the likes of Northern Ireland, for instance, we have smaller airports that are perfect for short-haul early flight trials. We are very fortunate to have Belfast International, Belfast City and Londonderry airports, but they are all for short-haul and domestic flights, although there is an indication that next year there will be direct flights to the United States of America.

On early flight trials I have one thought. Ards airport is a small constituency airport—we have the Ulster flying club—and there are possibilities for using that for early trials. Why not? That shows that the reach of this debate can go even further. We have green targets that we are planning to meet. It would be fantastic if the UK could be a global leader in green aviation, but we must never underestimate the cost, the time and the infrastructure that are required.

There is no doubt about the Minister’s commitment to the aviation sector, but I look to him to get an idea of his plans and strategy for the future. That is the encouragement that I am looking for today arising from this debate, and I seek reassurances about people’s jobs in the aviation sector. We need to retain people with the relevant skills, so in the event of any changeovers—for instance, at Spirit AeroSystems back home—we must ensure that jobs are retained and encouraged. The industry would be nothing without the workers in it, who make it what it is, and Government intervention is required to maintain its success.

I look forward to seeing what the future looks like for hydrogen-powered aviation, and I have a very strong and positive hope—indeed, perhaps a vision—that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can showcase what we have to offer for the future of aviation, and particularly for hydrogen-powered aviation.