The first projects from state-owned GB Energy were expected to grab the headlines, including £10m of ‘metro partnerships’ to build clean power across the country. But the story was pushed down the agenda by a fire that has closed London’s Heathrow Airport and impacted 62,000 customers directly, alongside the travel plans of millions around the world.

Fires can happen anytime and anywhere, but quite why an electricity substation blaze close to the airport premises should bring the UK’s leading airport to a halt will be a subject of investigation. It raises questions around back-up power, energy storage and “infrastructure resilience” at times of heightened geopolitical tensions.

For whatever reason, the airport’s back-up systems either failed to kick in or were not up to the task, preventing the airport from returning to a normal scheduled operation. Airport officials have so far said the that the systems they have “worked as expected”.

There have been claims made today that Heathrow has been in the process of moving from diesel back-up generators to biomass, working alongside the grid.

“Their Net Zero-compliant back-up system has completely failed in its core function at the first time of asking,” said Reform Deputy Leader Richard Tice, speaking on a TV news channel.

In some ways, the two events are more interconnected than first appears.

The UK’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Climate Change Ed Miliband was at pains to stress on the radio earlier today the importance of remaining steadfast in relation to the renewables agenda, amid escalating demands to tone down Net Zero targets, in order to build energy security and cut fossil fuel use.

Heathrow, for its part, will presumably soon look to review its back-up power sources, including more sustainable alternatives to diesel generators.

Many airports around the world are now exploring hydrogen as back-up power, and looking at hydrogen microgrids where electrolysers store excess gas which can be accessed when needed.

Frankfurt Airport, for example, is testing hydrogen fuel cells as a reserve supply for its terminals and ground operations. Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, part of the HyPort project, is installing hydrogen-powered back-up systems; and Singapore Changi is also considering hydrogen for back-up power and vehicle applications.

The challenges that attach to hydrogen back-up being adopted include infrastructure costs, safety regulations, efficiency and storage. But should they be overcome, hydrogen could be an invaluable tool in airports’ crisis armoury, when disruption occurs.