How the EU Is Driving Airport Sustainability: Innovation, Funding & Dual-Use Infrastructure

The European Union is aggressively scaling investment in sustainable, competitive, and resilient airport and transport infrastructure under dual agendas of decarbonisation and military mobility. The recent surge in grants and project approvals highlights the transition from planning to implementation.

First, the Green Deal airport programmes—STARGATE, OLGA, and TULIPS—each lead with bold innovation. For example, the OLGA project at Paris Charles de Gaulle is using solar-powered boarding bridges and battery storage to provide 25 % of electricity for aircraft parked at stands. [Initial source] Complementarily, TULIPS is rolling out hydrogen-powered GPUs at Amsterdam Schiphol to provide lighting and cockpit power without emitting CO₂ during ground operations. [Initial source] STARGATE’s pilots include autonomous electric shuttles moving workers on the tarmac. [Initial source]

Second, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) under CEF has committed over €600 million to nearly 70 projects in late 2025 that support safe, zero-emission mobility across air, road, maritime, and inland waterways. These include major plans to electrify ground operations at 16 airports and funnel funding into electric charging points, hydrogen stations, and modern bunkering infrastructure.

Third, military mobility is being folded into infrastructure planning via dual-use projects. CEF Transport has approved 95 such projects since 2021, investing almost €1.74 billion. Projects span airports (e.g. Franjo Tuđman in Croatia, Warsaw Chopin in Poland), roads, bridges, ports, and ATC systems. The aim: ensure critical infrastructure is ready for both civilian and defence uses, with enhanced capacities for heavier loads, larger aircraft, and 24/7 operations.

Strategically, this has several implications. The regulatory framework—AFIR, ReFuelEU Aviation, FuelEU Maritime—is translating law into infrastructure, reducing regulatory risk for investors—but also raising the bar for compliance. Public funding is essential to derisk projects and attract private capital, but sustainability of financing beyond grants remains uncertain. Technical standardisation across airports for ground power, electric fleet, hydrogen supply, and digital systems will matter. Lastly, where airports integrate military mobility, geopolitical stability and defence spending become intertwined with civilian infrastructure investment.

Open questions include: How will smaller regional airports without access to large grant schemes scale these technologies? What are the total lifecycle costs of alternative fuel infrastructure, including grid upgrades? How rapidly will ground operations electrification reduce emissions, relative to emissions from flights themselves? And how will Europe’s push compare with developments in other regions (US, Middle East, Asia)?