Airbus intends to use an A380 superjumbo to test hydrogen-powered jet engines. The European company is preparing to put a zero-emission aircraft into service by 2035.
The group based in Toulouse, in southern France, said it would work with CFM International, a joint venture between France’s Safran and US company General Electric, to develop a propellant capable of running on hydrogen. Executives said the transformed test aircraft will fly by the end of 2026.
The venture comes amid growing pressure on the aviation industry to cut pollution and meet targets to achieve zero emissions by 2050. Before the pandemic, which brought much of the world’s aircraft to a standstill, aviation accounted for approximately 2.4 % of global pollutant emissions.
“To achieve these goals by 2050, the industry needs to act now, and we are acting,” said Gael Meheust, chief executive of CFM.
The modified plane will keep its four conventional engines, and a fifth adapted for hydrogen will be mounted in the rear part of the fuselage.
The number of technical challenges is large. According to the plans, 400 kilograms of liquid hydrogen will be stored in four tanks at -253ºC. A new cryogenic delivery system should be developed.
The hydrogen will also have to be turned into a gas before combustion. Gas burns at a much higher temperature than conventional jet fuel, so special cooling and coating materials will also need to be developed.
“Is hydrogen more difficult? Yes. Is it doable? Totally,” said Mohamed Ali, vice president and general director of engineering at GE Aviation.
Executives said the decision to use an A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, would give engineers more room for things like tanks and test equipment.
However, the commercial product will be much smaller. Airbus said it will initially produce a regional or shorter-range aircraft.
The aviation industry is divided over how fast companies can make the hydrogen engine happen.
Aside from the complex engineering challenges, significant investments will be required to accumulate “green” hydrogen stock and to change airport fuel storage requirements and develop the associated infrastructure.
Critics say sustainable fuels are the only practical solution to cleaner aviation.
Airbus engineers are working on several zero-emissions concepts, all of which rely on hydrogen as their primary energy source. Sabine Klauke, chief technology officer, said the company would decide by the end of this decade which way to go.
Klauke admitted that “enormous work and investment” will be required to develop the demonstration aircraft. Airbus declined to reveal the exact size of the investment, but said it forms part of its “overall research and development plans”.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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