Airbus: Fuel Cell Engine for Emission-Free Air Travel

Airbus aims to begin ground and flight testing of this fuel cell propulsion architecture on board its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft around the middle of the decade. The A380 flight test aircraft for the new hydrogen technology is currently being retrofitted to carry liquid hydrogen tanks and associated distribution systems.

“We are focusing on the development and testing of this technology to determine whether it is feasible and viable for the entry into service of a zero-emission aircraft in 2035," said Glenn Llewellyn, VP Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus. "On a large scale and when technological goals are met, fuel cell propulsion could power passenger aircraft with around one hundred passengers and a range of about 1,000 nautical miles. By continuing to invest in this technology, we are giving ourselves additional options that will help us in our decisions about the architecture of our future ZEROe aircraft, which we plan to begin developing in the 2027-2028 timeframe."

Zero Emissions – with CO₂-neutral production of H₂

For Airbus, hydrogen is one of the most promising alternatives for powering a zero-emissions aircraft. The hydrogen is to be produced exclusively from renewable energy, ensuring that no carbon dioxide is emitted during the production of the gas. The only by-product of eco-friendly flying would be water.

Combustion or Fuel Cell

There are two ways to use hydrogen as an energy source for powering aircraft. One way is by burning hydrogen in a gas turbine, and the other is by using fuel cells to convert hydrogen into electricity to drive a propeller motor. A hydrogen gas turbine can also be coupled with fuel cells instead of batteries in a hybrid-electric architecture.

Hydrogen fuel cells are easily scalable, so they could be "stacked" depending on the power requirements demanded by the customer. Additionally, an engine operated with hydrogen fuel cells produces no NOx emissions or contrails, thus offering additional benefits for decarbonization.