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GRAMuillaume Faury is under pressure. The head of aircraft manufacturer Airbus has just informed his employees that due to the decline in aviation as a result of the Corona crisis, even layoffs cannot be ruled out. But there is still one big concern: the post-Corona era.
The more planes take off, the more their contribution to climate change becomes focused. Faury has to find an answer to this if there is not going to be a ban on flights one day. His idea: the new Airbus models could be turned into green airplanes using hydrogen instead of kerosene.
Faury has announced that Airbus will have an emission-free aircraft by 2035, that is, without harmful CO.two-Departure, will offer. To do this, various technological routes would be examined and the first demonstrators would be built, as the precursors of prototypes are called.
The aircraft manufacturer will present its hydrogen strategy on Monday in a “Zero Emissions Day.” There will also be announced the construction of demonstrators, for example for a short-range model with a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity for an electric drive, according to industry circles.
“We are investigating all hydrogen options,” explains Airbus Director Glenn Llewellyn shortly before the presentation. The ideal solution is being sought to use the gas for zero emission technology, even for larger aircraft. Airbus speaks of hydrogen as a possible “game changer” that should eradicate the formula “flying contributes to global warming”.
It is the future propulsion technology with which the successor generations of today’s best-selling A320 aircraft take off and with which Airbus wants to achieve technological leadership over Boeing. The aircraft manufacturer can also benefit from government aid packages from Germany and France, which are promoting the use of hydrogen.
There are still many obstacles to overcome before passengers can sit on an airline’s hydrogen jet. It’s also a billion dollar gamble if one day there won’t be super-efficient high-performance batteries after all.
Science agrees that air traffic contributes about 2.5 percent of human-made CO2 emissions. However, with more aircraft, this proportion could double in the next few decades.
There is also a dilemma. COtwoCarbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is not the only pollutant. Added to this are the emissions of nitrogen oxide, water vapor and the resulting condensation cirrus clouds, that is, ice crystal clouds, as well as the effects of aerosols that contribute to global warming. This means that the contribution to global warming is greater than simple CO2.two-Proportion of.
A study carried out by Manchester Metropolitan University, in which the German Aerospace Center (DLR) also participated, recently placed the contribution of aviation to global warming at 3.5 percent. All industry players agree that something has to happen, and Airbus boss Faury has the ambition to take the lead in sustainable flights.
The use of hydrogen would be a solution. There are several scenarios: in conventional aircraft engines, pure hydrogen can also be used, so that there is no COtwo arises. However, the aircraft would have to be heavily rebuilt and the engines adapted.
The most likely solution is to use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which in turn powers electric motors to power aircraft. In essence, it would be an alternative to the heavy batteries in an electric airplane. Hybrid forms with fuel cells and batteries are also possible.
With electric motors, entirely new aircraft configurations would be possible. Instead of two large motors under the wings, many electric motors would be more likely, possibly even built into the wings.
Another field of application could be the so-called green hydrogen, which is generated from regenerative energy and then used to produce synthetic fuel. Airbus boss Faury wants to decide which technology path to choose by around 2025.
Hydrogen and logistical problems
The possible uses look promising, but there are still huge challenges and even downsides. Hydrogen requires a very large volume. Therefore, the gas would have to be transported in well-insulated tanks on the aircraft at high pressure and in liquid form at minus 252 degrees Celsius.
There are also significant logistics problems. Today, planes are refueling their kerosene at all major airports, and the fuel can easily be transported by tanker trucks. There is still no hydrogen infrastructure at airports.
There is also the question of how hydrogen itself is generated. Furthermore, experts believe that burning hydrogen as a substitute for kerosene in conventional engines creates even larger contrails. But this could be reduced with lower altitudes.
Kerosene is much cheaper than hydrogen
Kerosene is also considerably cheaper, easier to handle, and easier to produce. According to DLR scientist Björn Nagel, “it is technologically possible to develop a hydrogen-based regional aircraft in about ten years.”
Then he says it: “It will be essential to create the economic framework conditions in time, in which climate-neutral flights become competitive with kerosene flights.” Green hydrogen will likely be more expensive in the future as well than kerosene today.
Industry reports that a good 40 percent of current COtwo-The emissions are produced on routes of less than 2000 kilometers. These routes could run emission-free with hydrogen fuel cell technology.
It has long been proven that an electrically powered hydrogen fuel cell aircraft works in principle. In 2016, the world’s first four-seater passenger test aircraft, the Hy4 model, with this technology took off from Stuttgart Airport.
Scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed the aircraft’s drivetrain. Now everything should be tested with a few larger sizes.
