Airport Electrification Readiness Planning

Airports are preparing for increasing electrification needs driven by Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), electric vehicles, electric ground support equipment, charging infrastructure, and other evolving airport operations. Airports of all sizes face challenges related to electrical capacity, utility coordination, grid constraints, and planning phased infrastructure investments, while guidance on airport electrification planning remains limited. Airport sponsors currently lack practical guidance for assessing electrical readiness, coordinating with utilities, and integrating electrification planning into broader airport utility planning processes. Research is needed to address these gaps and provide airport-focused approaches for planning phased electrification infrastructure investments while complementing related federal research efforts and preventing duplication. The objective of this research is to develop practical, airport-focused planning guidance that enables airport sponsors to assess, plan, and phase electrification infrastructure to support Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations within a broader airport electrification framework. Research should develop scalable planning frameworks, readiness assessment tools, decision-support guidance, utility coordination templates, phased investment strategies, and other planning resources that enable airports to align electrification investments with utility constraints, infrastructure capacity, projected operational demand, and long-term airport utility planning across a range of airport types. The guidance should support the airport electrification master plans that incorporate AAM as one element of a comprehensive airport utility planning approach.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6102
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $500,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 03-89

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Managing Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Picciano, Tara

• Start Date: 20260831
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: Airport Cooperative Research Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airports; Electric aircraft; Infrastructure; Transportation planning; Urban air mobility
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Energy; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02001720
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 03-89
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 2 2026 4:55PM