Airbus has plans to bring a zero-emissions commercial airliner to the market within the decade by using green hydrogen as the means to the end. The fuel would be produced using wind and solar power. The new model would use hydrogen fuel cells or a hybrid-electric engine to drive the gas turbines. Such an airplane would significantly contribute to reducing the aviation industry’s effect on climate change.
The VP of zero-emissions technology for Airbus, Glenn Llewellyn, said, “We’ve been very clear recently that we have the ambition to bring a zero-emissions commercial airliner to market in the early 2030s, and one of the most promising technologies to allow us to do that is hydrogen. We believe we need to position the aviation industry to be powered by renewable energy, and hydrogen is a very good surrogate for allowing us to do that.”
Executive Llewellyn was one of several other panelists during the “Clean Flight – Path to Zero Emissions Aircraft” FIA Connect 2020 webinar that considers hydrogen to be among the multiple approaches necessary to reach their sustainability goals.
He continued, “We are talking about making some significant decisions in the 2024 to 2025 timeframes in terms of the technology choices we need to make. The technology development needs to progress fairly quickly over the next four to five years. Such progress will entail reaching beyond aircraft borders to the automotive and space sectors, both of which have experience with hydrogen energy use.”
Of course, this task goes beyond Airbus making a hydrogen airplane. The airport community also has to prepare for such an aircraft by establishing the infrastructure and transitioning all ground-powered vehicles to hydrogen as well.
Llewellyn noted, “That’s going to require work already starting today. That infrastructure piece is as important as the aircraft development piece.”
Airbus has begun the initial work of laying out the roadmap and reaching out to energy companies about hydrogen usage.
Hydrogen is just one solution, however. A second piece of the puzzle in the future mix of fuels is sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), such as biofuel. Aircraft are already certified to carry as much as 50% of SAF, but most don’t because it’s more expensive. Nevertheless, it’s a promising short-term option while the hydrogen infrastructure is being installed. San Francisco Airport (SFO) recently started using a new SAF made from residue raw materials and waste, such as animal fats and used cooking oil. Now more airports need to get on board.
Llewellyn said, “That’s a huge lever that today we are not adequately using. There is no technology limit. There is no technology boundary in us being able to do more there.”
So why not just use SAF? Because biofuel has a scalability limit. That’s why aviation will need to use hydrogen as well. In the longer-term, hydrogen could be used in aircraft that seat up to 200 passengers, while SAF could be a better option for aircraft more massive than that.
Eamonn Beirne, head of emerging aviation technologies for the UK Department for Transport, said, “Nobody’s under the illusion that there’s one technology that’s going to solve [sustainability challenges]. SAF stands as the most immediate approach, but other means, including hydrogen, look as if they can help deliver on sustainability.”
A couple of other zero-emissions aircraft in the works include ZeroAvia’s electric Piper M350 (a six-seat hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft that recently completed test runs from Cranfield Airport in the UK) and a hydrogen-powered helicopter-meets-drone aircraft called Skai by Alaka’i Technologies. Another ambitious zero-emission aircraft in development is the Airlander 10, the world’s largest aircraft by volume, which is being developed with hydrogen-electric powertrains from ZeroAvia for all-electric flight by 2030. Airbus’s hydrogen ambitions are part of a larger trend in futuristic aircraft development. Our comprehensive guide covers the latest advances in supersonic flight, electric aviation, and radical new airframe designs that are reshaping the future of flight.
