Status: 16.01.2024, 18:33 PM
By: Ulrike Hagen
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Airbus announces a "milestone" on the way to a hydrogen aircraft and opens a development center in Stade. The first flights are to be tested as early as 2026.
Stade – Airbus has successfully commissioned the first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell for aviation – and is now strengthening its presence in Germany with the opening of a development center for hydrogen technologies in Lower Saxony. It will complement the other Airbus sites in Bremen, Nantes (France), Madrid (Spain) and Filton (United Kingdom) to put a hydrogen-powered aircraft in the air by 2035. Just recently, Airbus announced that it would also create 3500,<> new jobs in Lower Saxony and Bremen.
Airbus plans to put a hydrogen-powered aircraft into service by 2035. The all-electric concept for up to 100 passengers is based on a propulsion system with fuel cells. © Airbus SAS 2023
Airbus announces "milestone" on the way to hydrogen aircraft
In a statement on Tuesday (16 January), Airbus announced the commissioning of the first "ZEROe" fuel cell – an "important milestone on the road to a hydrogen-powered flight". On Twitter, the developers of the propulsion system with zero CO₂ emissions rave: "The ZEROe teams have successfully commissioned the "Iron Pod", part of the hydrogen propulsion system for our electric concept aircraft. Its 1.2 megawatts of energy are enough to power 12 electric cars!".
Airbus is developing mega fuel cells that will make it possible to fly with hydrogen from 2035
Back in December 2020, Airbus unveiled four concepts for hydrogen-powered aircraft. One of them was all-electric and used hydrogen fuel cells and a propeller drive system. In fuel cell propulsion, the hydrogen is converted into electricity through a chemical reaction. As a by-product of the reaction, simple H₂O is produced, which produces almost no CO2 emissions during flight.
So far, flying has been the most climate-damaging way to get around. The enormous potential of hydrogen fuel cells for the decarbonisation of aviation makes them a key technology for climate-neutral flying, but there was a challenge: Of the hydrogen fuel cells that existed on the market at the beginning of the project, none provided the enormous energy required to power an aircraft at an acceptable weight. This has now happened with the 1.2 megawatt development of the Airbus research team.
"This was a big moment for us, because the architecture and construction principles of the system are the same as what we will see in the final design," explains Mathias Andriamisaina, head of the project's test and demonstration department.
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Model of Airbus' all-electric ZEROe fuel cell engine, which will power hydrogen aircraft in the future. © Airbus SAS 2023
Airbus opens new development centre for hydrogen technologies in Stade
In order to accelerate the advancement of its technologies, Airbus has now opened a site in Stade. Similar to Bremen, the focus of the new ZEROe Development Centre (ZEDC) is on the development of hydrogen tanks, which will be used in civil aircraft in the future. The overall initiative aims to develop new technologies that will ultimately enable emission-free flying. The integration of an innovative tank structure plays a decisive role in this.
The two northern German sites work with different materials: At ZEDC in Bremen, which was founded in 2021, the focus of research is on system installation and development of metallic tanks for hydrogen. In Stade, on the other hand, the focus is on the development of cost-effective, lightweight hydrogen systems made of composite materials.
Stade becomes part of Airbus' international development network for zero-emission aviation
ZEDC Stade will thus become part of an existing network of development centres in which Airbus is researching methods to reduce the climate impact of aviation. In addition to Stade, this network also includes locations in Bremen, Nantes, Madrid and Filton.
The first flights are to be rehearsed as early as 2026 – Easyjet wants to become a launch customer
Testing of the first version of the "Iron Pod" will continue until 2024. The next step will be to optimize the size, mass, and performance of the propulsion system to meet flight specifications, including the system's responses to vibration, humidity, and altitude.
Once these optimizations and tests are complete, the fuel cell propulsion system will be installed on a flight test platform and tested on the ground. Flight testing should then begin as early as 2026. Johan Lundgren, CEO of the airline Easyjet, has already announced in 2023 that it intends to become the launch customer for Airbus hydrogen aircraft.