Airbus’ aim of getting hydrogen-powered flight off the ground gets closer by the day thanks to exciting progress in the technology building blocks behind ZEROe, our low-carbon emission aircraft concept.
Forging ahead with its decarbonisation ambition, Airbus is maturing two hydrogen-based propulsion technologies in parallel. Hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cells are at the heart of ZEROe, our low-carbon emission aircraft concept. H2 fuel cells are also under study as a source of non-propulsive energy. Recent months have seen plenty of achievements, so it’s time to check in for a closer look!
Hydrogen combustion (H2C)
On 12 May this year ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran, successfully completed a proof-of-concept of a hydrogen ‘conditioning system’ adapted to power an aircraft turbine engine.
Given that hydrogen has to be stored at a bone-numbing -253°C, it needs to be ‘conditioned’ to reach an acceptable temperature and pressure for combustion in the aircraft engine. That’s the system’s job.
The project is known as HyPERION, and was made possible by reusing equipment designed for space applications. It’s an essential building block of the H2C technology roadmap to 2035.
At the same time, Airbus is also actively preparing a future H2C demonstrator with GE and Safran joint venture CFM International. The goal is to mature a flightworthy, fully integrated hydrogen engine and aircraft, using our own A380 test aircraft as a flying test bed.
Hydrogen fuel cells
A few months back Airbus revealed its hydrogen fuel cell engine concept which has been put through its paces at our E-Aircraft Systems test house near Munich. It’s Europe’s largest such facility. Over six months of ground testing, our expert teams have joined forces to achieve the exciting milestone of running the fuel cell at full power: 1.2 megawatts (MW).
The fuel cell system is being tested at the EAS Test House, the largest test house dedicated exclusively to alternative propulsion systems and fuels in Europe. <br /> <br />
This is the most powerful fuel cell test ever achieved in aviation anywhere in the world to date, and a great platform to learn. Airbus is alone in the aviation industry in reaching such a power ‘chain’, coupling 12 fuel cells to reach the output needed for commercial use.
What’s the significance of 1.2 Megawatts?
“In December 2020, Airbus shared with the public a 100% fuel cell powered aircraft concept. This concept was a 100-seat aircraft capable of 1,000 nautical miles and it had six engines. 1.2 megawatts is the power needed by one of these engines at take-off. So we are ground-testing a fully electric propulsion system capable of producing the take off power of a large commercial aircraft.” – Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus VP ZEROe Aircraft.
Even better, the 1.2 MW test was carried out using multiple power channels coupled together on a single propeller, helping Airbus to apply learnings to aircraft design and ultimately, manufacturing. Perhaps even more significantly, the test helps Airbus to further develop its own fuel cell knowledge, in support of certification targets for future hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Airbus release
