In outback Australia, a family of airports is going ‘off-grid’, targeting ‘Real Zero 2030’
At the Eliwana iron ore mine in outback Western Australia, the airport has just switched from diesel-generated to wholly ‘off-grid’ power as part of a broad and steep commitment by its owner, the mining company Fortescue, to achieve ‘Real Zero’ by 2030.
To reach ‘Real’ rather than Net Zero targets, Fortescue wants to eliminate its Scope 1 and 2 terrestrial emissions – those which it generates – by implementing direct initiatives across its operations in the mineral-rich Pilbara Region, without the use of voluntary carbon offsets.
At Fortescue’s airports, those measures include micro-grid and battery storage systems, battery electric vehicles and ground equipment, and solar-powered lighting around the airfield.
Adam Kett, Fortescue’s manager, aerodromes, says Eliwana is the first and youngest of five airports that the company is switching to wholly renewable power for both its airside and landside operations, and will serve as the template for any future airfields it builds.
Because mining and exploration sites are largely located well outside scheduled airline networks, and inconveniently far from major population centres, resources companies build their own airports to shuttle employees to and from major projects in a widespread practice known as ‘fly in – fly out’, or FIFO.
Eliwana is a textbook example of such a facility, highlighted by Kett at the recent National Conference of the Australian Airports Association, of which he is chair of the Western Australian division.
The nearest town to Eliwana is Tom Price, a town with a population of just 3,000 and located a two-hour, 30-minute drive away.
Opened in 2020, Eliwana Airport now handles around 90,000 arriving and departing passengers and 2,500 aircraft movements per year, ranging from helicopters and 10-14 seat Beech King Air and DHC Twin Otter commuter planes to narrowbody jets including Fokker 100s, Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s from Australia’s largest airline group, Qantas.
Including its other airports at the Cloudbreak, Christmas Creek, Solomon and Iron Bridge mines, Fortescue’s gateways collectively handle more than 550,000 passenger movements and almost 10,000 aircraft arrivals and departures per year.
Although airports elsewhere – mostly much bigger and embedded within scheduled airline networks – have incrementally introduced zero-emission equipment or infrastructure, Fortescue claims Eliwana is Australia’s first fully off-grid airport, with all vehicles and equipment, plus the terminal, car park and airfield lighting systems, powered by solar-generated electricity.
And instead of relying on auxiliary power units installed in aircraft, and powered by their fossil-fuelled engines, renewable energy from Eliwana’s reserves is used to provide all-important air conditioning to parked aircraft, many of which can be on the ground for up to six hours in heat that often nudges 50 degrees Celsius.
At the core of Eliwana Airport’s off-grid power supply is a 30kw solar grid and battery energy storage system (BESS), which provides renewable power to the aerodrome.
Micro grids are used to power the airport’s terminal building and car parks, while solar energy is used for airfield lighting including special-purpose PAPI (precision approach path indicator) and IWDI (illuminated wind direction indicator) aids near the runway to reduce the draw on battery reserves, while some of the power generated by day is stored and used for overnight needs.
Airside at Eliwana, baggage tugs, conveyor belts and air conditioning units to support aircraft are all battery-electric powered, as are airfield vehicles – which are currently being vigorously evaluated. Other units such as buses which travel between the mining village and airport are slated for further upgrade once hydrogen-electric powertrains are deemed suitable after the current trials.
The Fortescue airports operate a total of just 10 electric airside tugs and11 electric conveyors for baggage, reflecting the relative size of their operations compared to general airports, says Kett.
And because of different operating conditions and specific safety requirements at the Fortescue airports, a lack of fit-for purpose vehicles and equipment or retrofit solutions for existing units has led Fortescue to design and build its own or partner with manufacturers to create customised units.
However, adds Kett, as Fortescue continues to commission and refine its ‘Real Zero’ airports, opportunities could arise to replicate its experience to assist small airport development or refinement in regional communities looking to or required to decarbonise their own operations.
Beyond its 2030 focus on eliminating Scope 1 and 2 emissions at its five existing remote airports, Fortescue is also progressing an even larger target: achieving ‘Real Zero’ for Scope 3 emissions (those produced by third parties including airlines or other operators using its airports).
Fortescue has set 2040 as its Real Zero target for Scope 3 emissions – a decade later than its Scope 1 and 2 decarbonisation deadline, but still a decade earlier than when many other (albeit larger) airports expect to reach their net zero targets.
The 2040 ambition could also potentially include the provision of blended sustainable aviation fuel for visiting airlines or other operators, depending on their requirements, or even supplying power to zero-emission electric or hydrogen fuel cell aircraft, with the first generation of retrofit powertrains or all-new craft now edging towards certification to enable commercial deployment.
While SAF is yet to be produced in Australia, multiple projects are progressing to final investment decisions or being evaluated, while at least three local aerospace startups are progressing plans for battery-electric or hydrogen-electric aircraft or powertrains.
Melbourne-based Dovetail Electric Aviation is preparing to test fly a new battery-electric powertrain, designed for retrofit into existing turbine-powered aircraft, with hydrogen-electric propulsion its next target.
Sydney-based AMSL Aero is progressing its Vertiia family of hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff or landing aircraft, initially for cargo or special purpose operations such as firefighting or medivac, with plans to progress to passenger versions.
And Brisbane-based Stralis aircraft is preparing to test fly its lightweight hydrogen-electric powertrain, again initially for retrofit into existing aircraft types, with plans to progress to an all-new regional aircraft in the mid-2030s.
The Fortescue airport transitions are incremental, and a small step forward in decarbonising aviation. But they also serve as testbeds for more and bigger switches elsewhere in the aero ecosystem.
