Stargate project at Brussels Airport includes biofuel blending unit

Brussels Airport’s Stargate project has been officially launched.
Brussels Airport will be working with a consortium of 21 partners on some 30 concrete projects to make aviation and airports greener and more sustainable in the next five years.
Stargate includes building a biofuel blending installation at the airport, electric ground handling material and testing a new innovation that will make engine test runs much quieter.
At the end of 2020, following a call of the European Commission, Brussels Airport took the initiative to submit an ambitious programme together with 21 partners, including three European airports, airlines, mobility and knowledge institutes and local authorities, to develop innovations and initiatives for an accelerated transition to greener aviation.
The project has received a €24.8 million grant within the European Green Deal to implement these projects in the coming years.
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, said: “With Stargate we want to show, together with our partners, that a more sustainable aviation is possible, and that we want to take the lead in this.
“Through partnership and innovation, we want to address the climate challenges we are facing.
“Within the Stargate project, we will develop biofuels for aircraft on the airport’s grounds, make the ground operations more sustainable, and turn airports into intermodal hubs, where alternatives for the car are even more accessible.
“By exchanging knowledge and experience with our partners, we can learn from each other, and our fellow airports will be the first to roll out the specific actions that proved successful at Brussels Airport. And within Stargate we are also looking at opportunities to cooperate with the local residents, for example regarding renewable energy. In addition, the initiatives around the modal split will of course have a positive impact for them as well.”