Innovative projects with self-driving shuttle, multimodal journey planner and green energy for airport neighbours

For four years now Brussels Airport has been the testing ground for the Stargate project that is part of the European Green Deal. The airport has a leading role in this and, together with a consortium of 22 partners, is working on concrete and innovative projects to make aviation more sustainable. In 2025, for example, pilot projects were launched with a self-driving, electric shuttle and with EV smart charging solutions. 2026, the end year of the project, will see the launch of a final series of innovative pilot projects being.

The Stargate project at Brussels Airport was started at the end of 2021. Since then Brussels Airport, together with 22 partners, such as aviation companies and other European airports, has been working on testing and developing innovative projects for sustainable aviation. The project has received a total of 24.8 million euros of funding within the European Green Deal to develop sustainable initiatives over a period of five years. In 2025 too, several concrete innovations were field-tested and preparations were made for the last year of the project in 2026.

Decarbonisation of airport operations by further electrification

The first pillar within the Stargate project focussed on the decarbonisation of operations on the airport site. Within that framework, from the end of 2024 to the start of 2025, a pilot project was launched to test the use of a 100% self-driving, electric shuttle airside, a first for an airport in Belgium. The shuttle is equipped with six cameras and sensors to monitor the surrounding traffic and only transported airport staff. After a successful three-month test programme, the second phase of the test project is currently underway where the shuttle drives from the terminal to a staff car park on the airport site.

In the summer of 2025, a smart charging solution was launched with AC and DC chargers for electric rental cars at the airport. Thanks to innovative software by Engie Laborelec, the available power is distributed dynamically to prevent system overloading. soverload This project demonstrates how smart technology can contribute to more efficient energy use and is an important step towards the large-scale rollout of charging points at the airport. Also within the framework of the BREEZE project (Brussels Airport Electrification for Zero Emissions), 328 charging points will be installed by 2027 on the airport site for electric ground handling equipment.

Pilot project with green energy for airport neighbours

A second major pillar of Stargate is the improvement of the quality of the local environment around the airport. The equivalent of 100 households from the four neighbouring municipalities (Zaventem, Steenokkerzeel, Machelen and Kortenberg) were given the opportunity at the start of 2025 to sign up to a year of green energy provided by Brussels Airport, in collaboration with energy platform Bolt. Approximately 9,200 megawatt-hours of green energy is currently being produced on-site at Brussels Airport using solar panels. This project aims to explore the feasibility of this kind of small-scale participatory schemes between the airport and local residents. The initiative will run until February 2026, after which it will be evaluated.

Stimulating the modal shift

Stargate’s third and final main pillar is improvement of the modal split, by improving mobility on and around airports and encouraging alternatives to the car. To this end, a multimodal journey planner was developed within Stargate that enables passengers and airport staff to prepare their sustainable journey from and to Brussels Airport. The tool ranks various means of transport based on their CO2 impact and takes into account the requirements of the user. The planner is available online via the airport website and on the mobility wall in the baggage reclaim hall.

Finally, in the summer of 2025 a bicycle sharing initiative was launched at Brussels Airport, in collaboration with the province of Flemish Brabant. A total of 48 bicycles, 22 of which are electric, were distributed over five bike stations on the airport site. The bicycles are available 24/7 and are mainly intended for the 30,000 airport employees so that they can move around the site in a sustainable manner. This test project will be evaluated after the summer of 2026.

2026 will be the crown on the Stargate project

2026 will be the fifth and final year of Stargate at Brussels Airport and will see a number of new pilot projects for sustainable aviation. There will be a new demo with an autonomous vehicle to transport cargo across the tarmac. Moreover, a mobile blending plant will be tested, in collaboration with Skytanking, to blend sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with kerosene for test flights using high-ratio SAF blends. Just as in previous years, , the environmental impact of these and other planned projects will be measured and analysed, including carbon emissions and noise impact.

Stargate projects are also underway at other European airports. At Athens International Airport a study is being carried out on the electrification of airside vehicles and rubbish bins have been designed for liquid disposal before passengers go through security, so that they do not end up in the plastic waste. Aéroport de Toulouse-Blagnac is developing a Sustainable Airport Mobility Plan (SAMP) to encourage more sustainable mobility at the airport and finally at Budapest Airport an app has been developed to improve the safety and navigation of vehicles on the tarmac.

The Stargate consortium partners are Athens International Airport, Budapest Airport, Aéroport de Toulouse-Blagnac, Brussels Airlines, TUI, DHL Aviation, Engie Laborelec, Air Cargo Belgium, Skytanking, skeyes, To70 Aviation, Lux Mobility, University of Hasselt, Erasmus Centre for Urban, Port and Transport Economics, IES R&D, Sopra Steria, Province of Flemish Brabant, Quatra, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), NMBS, the Flemish Institute for Logistics and Arup.

This project has received subsidies from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under subsidy agreement GA101037053.