Part of the Airbus Summit, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has revealed that it is developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine that could see ground testing begin around 2026 on an Airbus A380.
According to the company in a press release announced on Wednesday (30 November), the European aircraft manufacturer said that “We are focusing on developing and testing this technology to see if it is feasible and viable for the entry into service of a zero-emission aircraft in 2035,” says Glenn Llewellyn, VP pf Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus.
“On a large scale and if the technological goals are achieved, fuel cell engines could power an aircraft for 100 passengers with a range of about 1000 nautical miles,” says Llewellyn. 1000 nautical miles is 1852 kilometers. This is an option for an emission-free aircraft, the development of which Airbus wants to start in 2027/2028. In the middle of the decade, around 2026, the fuel cell technology is to be tested on the first Airbus A380, which will be converted into a test aircraft.
progress towards decarbonization
This is how it works: A fuel, such as hydrogen, reacts with an oxidizing agent such as oxygen. The resulting chemical reaction energy is converted into electrical energy, and heat and water are also produced. So, a transformation takes place, neither with a combustion nor a storage. Fuel cells can generate electricity as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied.
There are two ways to use hydrogen as an energy source to power aircraft. On the one hand, by burning hydrogen in a gas turbine. On the other hand, through the use of fuel cells that drive a propeller motor. A hydrogen gas turbine can also be combined with fuel cells instead of batteries in a hybrid-electric system.
Since a single fuel cell is only a few millimeters thick and about the size of an envelope, it does not release much energy. In order to achieve sufficient power for use in aircraft, hundreds of fuel cells must therefore be connected electrically in series to form a so-called stack. Subsequently, stacks are combined into fuel cell channels.
The first prototypes of fuel cell stacks are already being tested in Hamburg. One challenge is the handling of the resulting water.
“The use of this technology on board an aircraft is particularly attractive because it produces neither CO2 nor nitrogen oxides and may form no or very few contrails,” Airbus says.
