Airbus has announced its development of a hydrogen fuel-cell engine designed for airplanes, hoping to deliver zero-emission aircraft by 2035. Hydrogen appears to be the front-running option for aircraft engine manufacturers to lower emissions for the new generation of planes. The methods of implementing this technology differ between the various industry players, though.
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Rolls-Royce recently announced a jet engine that burns hydrogen directly, while Airbus’ solution is an electric motor just like fuel-cell cars (like the Toyota Mirai), while emitting only water. The Airbus engines could eventually be employed in commercial aircraft that could carry up to 100 passengers around 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,850 kilometres, the company said.
Airbus is planning to test these engines within a couple of years on its A380 aircraft, “currently being modified to carry liquid hydrogen tanks,” it said. However, its main goal will be to employ these engine on smaller, regional jets that can take advantage of the technology with propeller-powered planes.
“Fuel cells are a potential solution to help us achieve our zero-emission ambition and we are focused on developing and testing this technology to understand if it is feasible and viable for a 2035 entry-into-service of a zero-emission aircraft,” said Airbus VP for zero-emission aircraft, Glenn Llewellyn.
This is not a new technology, of course, already touted by advocates of the technology in cars. The reason some believe this to be better vehicles than battery electric cars is because of the production process – mining and refining the materials needed for the massive batteries in EVs are actually very polluting. That being said, they are less efficient, meaning the EVs are more environmentally friendly in the long run.
The Rolls-Royce jet engine that burns hydrogen directly might be the best of both worlds here. The company converted a Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A, a regional aircraft engine used in turboprop commuter planes, to work with the novel fuel source. However, the tech could theoretically be scaled up for larger planes.
