Finding solutions that demonstrate how an airport can be designed to operate entirely with not carbon emissions and to provide infrastructure for zero-carbon aircraft is a challenge that Aeroporti di Roma is committed to, in collaboration with German research centre DLR, the Danish Technological Institute, Copenhagen Airport (CPH), the IATA, the University of Parma and 10 other European partners. An initiative that confirms ADR’s strategy, which is increasingly oriented towards Excellence in services, Sustainability and Innovation.
The aviation industry is experiencing a transition that aims to completely eliminate carbon emissions from aircraft and airports by 2050. To this end, the European Commission has allocated funds from its Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme for the “Smart Airports” project, in which ADR participated by winning the European tender to create the airport of the future. The results of the project will aim to inspire the airports of the whole of Europe towards a reconversion of all processes in environmentally-sustainable terms.
Aeroporti di Roma, together with Copenhagen airport, will analyse the processes and local logistics of the fuels of the future for aircraft, be they biofuels, e-fuels, hydrogen or electricity. They will also develop the concept of the Smart Energy Airport of the future, by maximising the production of energy from renewable sources, energy storage and the use of electricity for vehicular mobility to and from airports.
Rome’s airports have long been committed to sustainability by adhering to the most advanced environmental sustainability standards. Fiumicino airport has been the first airport in the world to join the EP-100 of “The Climate Group”, the global initiative of The Climate Group, on the smarter use of energy, with the ambitious commitment to increase its energy productivity by 150% by 2026 through investments in innovation and energy efficiency programmes: key tools for tackling climate change.
It should be recalled that the initiatives and interventions in favour of the environment carried out by ADR to date involve the saving of 214,000,000 kWh of electricity over the last 10 years, equivalent to 77,682 tonnes of CO2, corresponding to approximately 580 million km travelled, or 506,000 round trips from Rome to Milan by car. Approximately 100,000 LED lights have been installed, which is equivalent to the public lighting of the entire city of Turin All this has been possible partly as a result of the use of the energy management system, for which we have been certified since 2012 according to the ISO 50001 standard. For years, ADR has kept its ACA – Airport Carbon Accreditation – certification at the carbon neutrality level for both Fiumicino and Ciampino airports.
In addition, the new gate A will be* LEED gold * certified, which means adopting the highest performing standards in terms of respect for the environment from the design phase to the construction phase, right through to the final management of the building.
This is therefore ADR’s 360-degree commitment to sustainability, making it, amongst other things, the only international hub to have received the United Nations “Sustainability Award” for its excellent commitment to Sustainability.
