MADRID - Hydrogen is critical to Airbus’ aim of developing the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. This will require an innovative approach to fuel storage. Airbus is now designing cutting-edge liquid hydrogen tanks to facilitate a new era of sustainable aviation, Airbus reports. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
December 14, 2021 - Hydrogen is one of the most promising technologies to reduce aviation’s climate impact. When generated from renewable energy sources, it emits zero CO2. Significantly, it delivers approximately three times the energy per unit mass of conventional jet fuel and more than 100 times that of lithium-ion batteries. This makes it well suited to powering aircraft.
However, storing hydrogen on-board an aircraft poses several challenges. Hydrogen may provide more energy by mass than kerosene fuel, but it delivers less energy by volume. At normal atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature, you would need approximately 3,000 litres of gaseous hydrogen to achieve the same amount of energy as one liter of kerosene fuel.
Related: Hydrogen-powered passenger plane completes maiden flight in ‘world first’
Related: Airbus to develop new hydrogen technologies in Spain
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
