Development of alternative fuel infrastructure at airports in Poland

In March 2026, a grant agreement for the project “Development of alternative fuel infrastructure at airports in Poland” was signed between the European Commission and a consortium of three companies: Polskie Porty Lotnicze S.A. as the Consortium Leader, Port Lotniczy Wrocław S.A., and Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. The consortium's application was submitted under
a competitive call for proposals within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2021–2027 transport sector – CEF Transport 2024. The Polish airports in the consortium were among the 16 European airports that received funding in this competition.
The project scope at Katowice Airport includes the construction of:
- 18 ground power units (GPUs) for aircraft power supply via 400 Hz converters,
- 24 charging stations for vehicles in the airport's operational zone, including 6 fast-charging stations with a capacity of 180 kW (12 charging points) and 18 charging stations with a capacity of 44 kW (36 charging points),
- Power infrastructure (power lines, medium voltage distribution stations [RSO], and transformer stations).
Total project value: EUR 6 409 427,00
EU co-funding: up to 50% of the total project value
Electric vehicle charging stations in the airport's operational zone will enable further electrification of the ground-handling fleet. This includes aircraft towing and pushback from parking stands, passenger and baggage transport, and catering logistics.
Aircraft power supply infrastructure using 400 Hz converters (GPUs) will:
- Enable airlines to use clean grid energy while aircraft are parked, replacing energy-intensive APUs or diesel-powered GPUs,
- Reduce noise for passengers boarding and deplaning, ground handling staff, and other personnel on the airport apron.
The implementation of the project “Development of alternative fuel infrastructure at airports in Poland” will support EU climate goals, the AFIR regulation (2023/1804), and TEN-T airport targets. It will do this by lowering local air pollution and noise, allowing the use of clean energy at airports, and improving the efficiency of multimodal hubs.
