Hydrogen-powered planes are, essentially, nothing new.
With thefuture of the planetin peril, almost everyone in air transport wants to talk about hydrogen propulsion.
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Were not starting from scratch.
The main challenge will be to certify them to airworthiness standards.
(Both are applicable to aviation and we will look more closely at them further on.)
The technology has, on the whole, been proven to work.
But what will it take to make air travel guilt-free in earnest?
However, its share is rising quickly.
Furthermore, aviation has an impact on the climate that goesfar beyond CO2.
In the last five years, we have seen dramatic validation of hydrogen aviation.
(That title has since been temporarily nickedby US-based Universal Hydrogenand its 40-seat ATR 72 nicknamed Lightning McClean.
ZeroAviaintends to steal it backwith aBombardier Dash 8 Q400.)
ZeroAvia is still mulling over a shortlist of potential manufacturing sites.
We are looking for the shipments of our engines to start in 2025.
Realistic entry-into-service projections?
Not everyone in the field shares ZeroAvias enthusiastic timeline.
Its not as if H2FLY hasnt gotten far already.
Furthermore, H2FLY completed the successful integration of a new liquid hydrogen storage system in April this year.
H2FLYhopes to have it certified by the end of this decade.
It can usually take anywhere between five to nine years to certify a new aircraft.
However, converting older airframes is not going to go on forever.
Solving the storage problem
Hydrogen has a higher energy density by weight than jet fuel.
However, it has a lower energy density by volume.
This means that putting hydrogen tanks on a plane entails throwing out seats or cargo capacity, i.e.
paying customers or payload, or altering the design of the aircraft.
A few intrepid companies out there are already intending to build new planes specifically designed for hydrogen propulsion.
The company recently completed flight testing of a quarter-scale prototype aircraft, following three years of extensive wind-tunnel testing.
Theres no supply chain for this yet, because its so new, Miftakhov states.
For example, British engine maker Rolls-Royce is also developing a range of products based on hydrogen fuel cells.
They do not have any moving parts and, as such, operate in near silence.
As previously mentioned, this requires extensive component development.
However, this is not the only technological pathway to flying planes on hydrogen.
A more immediate means of using existing gas turbine technology would be through direct hydrogen combustion.
Hydrogen combustion works in the same way as conventional internal combustion.
However, it comes with a different set of considerations.
The technology eliminates most emissions and reduces some remaining ones such as nitrous oxide (NOx).
But, it does produce water vapour, which in turn produces contrails.
Research shows that contrails may be responsible foras much as 50%of aviations warming effects.
However, the contrails produced by hydrogen combustion differ from those generated by burning fossil fuels.
ZEROe
Airbus is looking into both technological pathways.
Three of the designs under the ZEROe umbrella use hydrogen combustion.
One of these is a BWB.
Essentially, each pod is a stand-alone propeller propulsion system.
Airbus says the demonstrator will take off on its first flight in the next five years.
Not all are convinced by Airbus efforts thus far.
Meanwhile, there is another crucial element missing the actual fuel to power all this innovation.
Nobody will buy an aeroplane they cannot operate.
So what will it take to scale?
The money is there, Xiao tells TNW.
Technology without a business case?
And this has to go hand in hand.
Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive, seems to share these concerns.
That allows you to, in fact, increase the renewable penetration of the grid.
We know that we can make it economical, and we can scale it.
Aviations decarbonisation journey is anything but easy.
Nor is it moving at a fast enough pace.
With all the challenges that hydrogen-powered aviation still has to face, it may seem like a long shot.
Story byLinnea Ahlgren
Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023.
Dabbles in gaming and fitness wearables.
But first, coffee.
