Low-carbon technologies are playing more roles in sustaining Chinese airports' green transformation, facilitating the civil aviation sector to move toward the country's "dual carbon" goal.

The civil aviation sector will promote safe and efficient SAF (sustainable aviation fuels) substitution, promote airport electrification and clean energy application, and strengthen energy conservation and intensive utilization, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Airports across the country are taking active actions to put low-emission facilities and eco-friendly technologies into operation, with busy hub airports as pioneers.

Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (Chongqing Airport), an air hub in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, is ambitious to create a green airport with the energy transition as the key, according to the Chongqing Airport Group.

A key challenge of airports' green transformation, carbon emissions and noise from aircraft and ground vehicles affect the air quality of aprons and neighboring areas.

To tackle these issues, the Chongqing Airport is moving intensively in changing the power-supply means to both sectors with fuel-to-electricity by introducing the ground support equipment (GSE) to reduce the use of the auxiliary power units (APU) of aircraft, according to Wang Xiumin, deputy manager of the Chongqing Airport's jet bridge operation department.

Normally powered by aviation fuel, an APU is critical aircraft equipment that provides electrical power and air conditioning for aircraft when they are on the ground.

"The GSE connects to the aircraft with two pipelines to provide power supply and air conditioning to ensure aircraft operation and passengers' comfort. This means of clean energy substation reduces the carbon emissions and noise," said Wang.

By now, the airport has put into operation 123 sets of power supply units and 114 sets of air conditioning supply units for aircraft on the ground.

According to rough statistics, the GSE could reduce the use of around 150 kg of aviation fuel for each flight.

Dubbed China's "mountain city," Chongqing is renowned for its spicy cuisine and tourism. It is also a major high-tech industry cluster and the world's leading laptop production base.

Therefore, the Chongqing Airport is a busy hub for both passenger and air cargo transport with intensive use of diverse types of ground vehicles.

The Chongqing Airport Group has been injecting much to facilitate the electrification of its ground vehicles. In 2021, the airport invested 140 million yuan (about 19.43 million U.S. dollars) to introduce electric vehicles and build charging stations.

By 2022, the volume of licensed new-energy vehicles working at the airport and charging facilities exceeded 280 and 219 units, respectively, which jointly contributed to the reduction of around 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Eyeing the construction of a greener airport, the Chongqing Airport is also endeavoring to innovatively develop more advanced ground facilities for aircraft and charging stations for ground vehicles to continuously enhance their utilization efficiency, according to the airport.

China has announced it will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The civil aviation industry will seek green and low-carbon development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) by making the sector smarter, low-carbon, and resource-efficient to achieve green transformation, said a roadmap issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

By 2025, the carbon emission intensity of China's civil aviation will continue to decline, the proportion of low-carbon energy consumption will continue to rise, and the utilization efficiency of civil aviation resources will improve, it said.