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In April, Airbus put the project to develop a hybrid aircraft in the drawer. Now, the aircraft manufacturer returns with a new message: We believe that we can achieve an emission-free hydrogen aircraft in the air within 15 years.
Airbus will have emission-free aircraft in the air by 2035. The company envisions three different concepts: a traditional jet aircraft, a propeller aircraft and a hybrid wing aircraft.
Airbus
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On Monday, amid the corona pandemic that has brought the aviation industry to its knees, Airbus sent a message that could breathe new life into the belief in sharp climate cuts in aviation.
Europe’s leading aircraft manufacturer is launching three new aircraft concepts and a goal of having an emission-free aircraft in the air by 2035.
Until now, electrification has been done on the smallest types of aircraft. The weight of the batteries has ensured that until now it has only been possible to produce small aircraft with a short range if traditional aviation fuel has to be avoided.
There are also no battery-powered aircraft that Airbus is focusing on right now. The company runs on hydrogen as fuel, both in a jet engine and in a propeller plane.
“Hydrogen as a primary energy source is an alternative that Airbus believes has exceptional potential as a pure fuel, and will likely be a solution for aviation and many other industries to meet climate neutrality targets,” writes Airbus.
At the same time, the aircraft manufacturer is aware that in order to promote the concepts of real aeronautical products in the future, a lot of work with technology, deployment of infrastructure for hydrogen and cooperation in the industry and with authorities will be necessary in the coming years.
Hydrogen can be produced in two ways: Either electrolysis is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, or natural gas is reformed.
Hydrogen production requires a lot of energy. If the hydrogen from electrolysis (water) is to be emission-free, renewable electricity must be used in the process. For the hydrogen in natural gas to be emission-free, the CO gas that is generated must be captured and stored.
Airbus launches three emission-free aircraft concepts by 2035. This concept will be able to carry 120 to 200 passengers over 2,000 nautical miles (3,704 kilometers) with hydrogen in the tank.
Airbus
Download hybrid project before summer
With the news on Monday, Airbus has changed course dramatically compared to the situation before the summer.
The company has been working since 2017 on a project called E-Fan X in collaboration with Rolls-Royce. Here, an existing mid-size jet with four engines would be used to test a hybrid-electric driveline.
Then came the corona pandemic that sent the entire aviation industry into a gigantic economic crisis. In April, Airbus announced that it had closed the E-Fan X project.
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Three concepts
The three concepts that Airbus has launched are called “ZERO”. Although they all use hydrogen, they are different.
- One is a jet aircraft similar to the current A320 aircraft, but with longer wings. The plane will be able to carry 120 to 200 passengers, will have a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles (compared to 3,500 for the current A320neo) and will run on hydrogen stored in tanks at the rear of the plane.
- The second is a propeller plane that will be able to carry up to 100 passengers over 1,000 nautical miles.
- The third is an aircraft with a hybrid wing design that will carry up to 200 people. Here, the wing is designed to flow into the non-traditional fuselage. The design will allow the cabin and hydrogen storage to be designed in new ways.
. Here’s the propeller plane variant that will be able to carry up to 100 passengers with a range of over 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 kilometers) with hydrogen in the tank.
Airbus
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Much work left
Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, describes the announcement as “historic” and makes it clear that the aircraft manufacturer has a plan to play a “leading role in the most important change this industry has ever seen.”
In addition to using battery technology on small planes, the option for climate cuts on larger planes has largely revolved around filling the tank with alternative fuel.
Modern jets are generally certified to fill up to 50 percent biofuel or synthetic liquid fuel in the tank.
However, this is used very little today:
– When it is as expensive as now, we can only use a microscopic ratio. Today we use less than 1 percent, but our planes can use up to 50 percent, CEO Jacob Schram told E24 in Norwegian on Thursday.
The company’s new climate plan wants to achieve a sustainable fuel share of 16 to 28 percent by 2030. SAS, for its part, has said it wants to use sustainable fuel in 2025 corresponding to the consumption of all flights in Scandinavia.
When the Airbus boss looks more closely at the crystal ball, he sees hydrogen as the following:
– I strongly believe that hydrogen, both in synthetic fuel and as a primary energy source for commercial aviation, has the potential to significantly reduce the climate impact of aviation, says Faury.
Here’s the hybrid wing concept that will be able to carry up to 200 passengers with hydrogen in the tank.
Airbus
