Liquid hydrogen tanks and the distribution systems that go with them are currently being added to the Airbus A380 MSN1 flight test aircraft for cutting-edge hydrogen technologies.
Airbus has announced that the company has been working on a fuel cell engine that can be powered by hydrogen. Airbus has expressed its belief in the fact that hydrogen is one of the most promising zero-emission technologies to reduce aviation’s climate impact. It is being seen as one of the probable ways to outfit the company’s zero-emission aircraft that will go into service by 2035.
Airbus, in around 2025 will begin ground and flight testing of this fuel cell engine architecture on its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft. Liquid hydrogen tanks and the distribution systems that go with them are currently being added to the A380 MSN1 flight test aircraft for cutting-edge hydrogen technologies.
“Fuel cells are a potential solution to help us achieve our zero-emission ambition and we are focused on developing and testing this technology to understand if it is feasible and viable for a 2035 entry-into-service of a zero-emission aircraft,” said Glenn Llewellyn, VP Zero-Emission Aircraft, Airbus. “At scale, and if the technology targets were achieved, fuel cell engines may be able to power a one hundred passenger aircraft with a range of approximately 1,000 nautical miles. By continuing to invest in this technology we are giving ourselves additional options that will inform our decisions on the architecture of our future ZEROe aircraft, the development of which we intend to launch in the 2027-2028 timeframe.”
Hydrogen can be utilized as an airplane propulsion fuel in two different methods. To power a propeller engine, hydrogen is first used in a gas turbine, then it is converted into energy in fuel cells. In a hybrid-electric architecture, fuel cells can be connected with a hydrogen gas turbine in place of batteries.
Hydrogen fuel cells may be scaled up by increasing their power output, especially when they are stacked. Additionally, an engine driven by a hydrogen fuel cell emits no NOx or contrails, providing further advantages for decarbonization.
Airbus has been working to identify the potential of fuel-cell propulsion systems in the aviation industry. As a joint venture with ElringKlinger, a business with more than 20 years of experience as a supplier of fuel cell systems and components, Airbus established Aerostack in October 2020. Airbus unveiled its pod-concept, which had six detachable fuel cell propeller propulsion units, in December 2020.
