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Aircraft giant Airbus says that it will begin test flights of a hydrogen powertrain on an A380 ‘superjumbo’ by the middle of this decade – with the aim of introducing it for commercial use by 2035.
The zero-emission ZEROe project will use hydrogen combustion technology that will be developed in a partnership between the European plane manufacturer and CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.
The goal of the project is to test an aircraft combustion engine that is fuelled by hydrogen. Unlike hydrogen fuel cell technology, which uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electric energy to run an electric motor, the Airbus technology will use liquid hydrogen as a fuel source for a specially developed combustion engine.
And yes, that does mean the ZEROe plane isn’t electric-powered, so you could argue it doesn’t belong on Move Electric. But we’re all about the future of mobility, and the sheer size and scale of planes means that battery electric technology isn’t really feasible to achieve zero emission flying. Plus it is kind of cool.
Airbus isn’t alone in chasing ‘green’ hydrogen to power future planes: there’s also the UK government-backed FlyZero project.
Anyway, back to the ZEROe. The powertrain will be fitted to an A380 – the world’s largest passenger aircraft – in order for test runs. Airbus says the project will be a multi-year programme, with test flights due to begin around the middle of the decade. The goal is to launch a zero-emission commercial aircraft using the technology by 2035.
Airbus will fit the hydrogen system to A380 MSN1, which was the first-ever A380 to be produced and flown. It has since been used as a testbed for various technologies.
As well as providing the test plane and running the development programme, Airbus will produce the liquid hydrogen tanks and set the specs for the hydrogen propulsion system. CFM will then modify the cumbustor, fuel system and control system of a GE Passport turbofan engine.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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Certainly seems a way forward for air travel. Pretty simple really. Hydrogen is flammable, just like petroleum-based jet fuel. It’ll go “bang” in a turbojet or -fan’s “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” cycle. No pollution either, I believe. Wonder what sort of noise it’ll make.
Would work on motor cars too, I think.
Takes up far more space than jet fuel, needs artificially cooled pressurised tanks, reducing space and weight available for passengers, and hydrogen costs far too much to produce.
Fix those problems and it’s a great idea.
Russians had a hydrogen powered Tupolev flying in the 1980s..
They will have many very intelligent people working for them taking everything into consideration.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.Yes indeed wigwam and that’s why, with regard to cars, batteries will always be cheaper.
In Scotland we should be leading the way in producing cheaper green hydrogen as we produce an abundance of cheap electricity during the night.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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