Introducing JetZero
The Times today has an article which is entitled Up, Up And Away On An Eco-Friendly, Blended-Wing Jet.
This is the sub-heading.
The US air force hopes that a $235 million contract for a radical new design will take off
The article goes on to give a good history of blended wing bodies, before describing JetZero’s blended-wing jet and the company’s deal with the US Air Force.
More on the aircraft is available on the company’s web site. Take a look at the WHY JETZERO page.
In ZEROe – Towards The World’s First Zero-Emission Commercial Aircraft, I describe Airbus’s ZEROe BWB, which is another proposed blended wing body.
Germany ‘A Laughing Stock’ After Minister’s Plane Grounded
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Faulty wing flaps on an ageing Airbus have left officials red-faced after Germany’s foreign minister was forced to abandon the plane en route to Australasia.
Germany’s foreign minister is Annalena Baerbock, who is a Green Party politician.
A lot of the comments are asking, what was a Green Party politician doing flying all the way to Australia in a fuel-hungry four-engine Airbus A 340.
The article got me thinking.
Consider.
- Government ministers, diplomats and some business people, will always need to fly around the world for some important face-to-face meetings.
- Perhaps, this won’t happen as much as it did in the past with the development of better communications technology, but there will always be a need in some cases.
- There are over 20,000 business jets in service.
- Most business jets could be run on sustainable aviation fuel.
- Some business jets have a very long-rage.
I can see one of the manufacturers developing sustainable business aircraft to fit various segments.
Lightweight Zero-Carbon Business Aircraft
Aircraft like the Eviation Alice will dominate this field.
- The aircraft is battery-powered.
- It can carry nine passengers.
- It has a range of 440 nautical miles.
- It can operate as either a feeder airliner, business aircraft or small parcel carrier.
- It is planned to be in service in 2027.
The Alice already has a substantial order book.
There are several other aircraft in this segment under development.
Lightweight Hybrid-Electric Business Aircraft
Aircraft like the Faradair BEHA are under development.
- The aircraft is powered by a Honeywell turbo generator running on sustainable aviation fuel.
- It can carry eighteen passengers.
- It has a range of around a thousand miles.
- It is being developed at Duxford Airfield.
- The aircraft has a radical quick-change interior.
- Operational trials are planned to start in 2026.
Like the Alice the Faradair BEHA is different.
Lightweight Business Aircraft Running On Sustainable Aviation Fuel
I can see several of the smaller business aircraft being certified for sustainable aviation fuel.
Cessna sold 8,000 of their Citation jets in 2022 and have delivered around 7,500 according to Wikipedia.
Cessna won’t be giving up that market without a fight.
Certifying the aircraft to run on sustainable aviation fuel would be the interim solution until a hydrogen-powered business aircraft becomes available as it surely will.
The biggest problem will be to make enough sustainable aviation fuel.
Long-Range Business Aircraft Running On Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Long-range business jets like the Gulfstream G800 are true intercontinental transport.
- They can carry nineteen passengers and sleep ten.
- Range is 8,000 nautical miles.
- The jets are powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines.
- This press release from Rolls-Royce is entitled Rolls-Royce Conducts First Tests Of 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel For Use In Business Jets.
I think it is right to assume that long-range business jets like the Gulfstream G800 will be able to fly intercontinental routes on a net-zero basis.
An Airbus A321 XLR Running On Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Airbus and to a certain extent Boeing are the elephants in the room.
Airbus have launched an A321 XLR for long routes.
- The aircraft can carry over 200 passengers.
- It can fly up to 5,400 miles.
- It is selling well.
- Air Canada are thinking of using the plane on transatlantic routes.
The engines are from either CFM or Pratt & Whitney and I would be very surprised if the aircraft couldn’t run on sustainable aviation fuel.
Conclusion
I can see a new pattern of flying developing.
To return to the case of Germany’s foreign minister, I could see her going to Australia in a long-range business jet like the Gulfstream G800 running on sustainable aviation fuel.
- She might take a flight from Berlin or perhaps a more convenient airport with a rail connection.
- The plane would refuel in the Middle East and possibly Singapore.
It would be interesting to see how her green supporters reacted.
I can also see Airbus A321 XLRs running on sustainable aviation fuel across the Atlantic, being marketed as the net-zero way to the USA.
After all, Lumo market themselves as the net-zero way to Scotland against the airlines.
Ecojet: Dale Vince Launches An Aviation Revolution
The title of this post is the same as that as this news story from Ecotricity.
This is the sub-heading.
The world’s first electric airline powered by renewable energy
These three paragraphs outline the project.
Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince, has announced the launch of Ecojet, the world’s first Electric Airline, powered by renewable energy. The move marks the beginning of an aviation revolution by making net-zero, emission-free air travel possible for the first time.
Ecojet’s fleet will comprise conventional planes retrofitted with hydrogen-electric powertrains. Once converted, the aircraft will operate with the same power output as before, but with a one-hundred percent reduction in CO2 emissions.
The decision to repurpose old planes rather than build new models from scratch will save 90,000 tonnes of carbon per year. The only byproduct will be water, which can be captured and released into the lower atmosphere to avoid the harmful effects of contrails.
These ae my thoughts.
The Aircraft
The news story contains pictures of two aircraft; a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter and a 737 or A320 variant.
- It also says that hydrogen-electric powertrains will be used.
- ZeroAvia in partnership with Cranfield Aerospace are developing such a powertrain and I suspect they could have one certified by 2025.
This would be used in the Twin Otter.
But what about 737 or A320 variant?
Airbus are already proposing the ZEROe Turbofan, which appears to be based on an improved A320 neo.
But the image on the news story looks more like a Boeing 737 from the wing-tips.
This article on the IET web site, which is entitled Airbus And Boeing To Embrace Hydrogen From Mid-2030s, indicates that it will be the mid-2030s before hydrogen twinjets of this size are in service.
This paragraph from the news story indicates his philosophy about the aircraft.
Short-term, to secure routes and a license from the Civil Aviation Authority, Ecojet will initially launch using conventionally fuelled planes. Ecojet will launch with two different sizes of turboprop aircraft (a 19-seat aircraft and a 70-seat aircraft). These aircraft will be retrofitted with the hydrogen-electric powertrains as they become approved for service by the CAA – the first retrofits will take place in 2025, one year after the commencement of flights.
Note.
- The news story clearly states that two types of aircraft will be used; a 19-seat turboprop and 70-seat turboprop.
- So the second picture of a Boeing 737 had nothing to do with the news story.
- They will be retrofitted with hydrogen-electric powertrains, when they have been certified.
- Flights are planned to start next year.
It looks a very canny philosophy, as Ecojet will be able to prove the route with aircraft running on traditional fuels or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and only switch to hydrogen, when the hydrogen-electric powertrains are proven, certified and installed, and the hydrogen infrastructure is in place.
The Smaller Aircraft
The first picture in the news story is of a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter.
- This aircraft accommodates 19-20 passengers.
- It has two turboprop engines.
- Production started in 1966 and it is still ongoing.
- Nearly a thousand have been built, so plenty of nearly-new examples will be available for refurbishment and conversion.
- Loganair operate three aircraft in Scotland.
It looks fairly certain, that Ecojet’s 19-seat aircraft will be a Twin Otter.
The Larger Aircraft
Possibilities would include these aircraft.
- ATR-72 – 72 seats
- de Havilland Canada Dash 8 – > 50 seats
Note.
- Both aircraft are still in production.
- In ZeroAvia To Bring Zero-Emissions Flight To Sweden, I talk about how ZeroAvia have sold their hydrogen-electric powertrains to Swedish ATR-72 operator; Braathens and are targeting Dash 8 operators.
- In Universal Hydrogen Successfully Completes First Flight Of Hydrogen Regional Airliner, I talk about Universal Hydrogen’s successful progress in selling hydrogen-electric powertrains for ATR-72s and Dash 8s. The first flight of their system was in an ATR-72.
It looks to me, that Dale Vince has a choice of two 70-seat aircraft and hydrogen-electric powertrains from two manufacturers; ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen.
In Monte To Purchase 100 FC Aircraft Drives From ZeroAvia, I talk about how Monte Aircraft Leasing have done a deal with ZeroAvia to lease ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrains to regional airlines.
Has Dale Vince done a deal with Monte Aircraft Leasing for his aircraft?
- Monte Aircraft Leasing and ZeroAvia would get an eco-celebrity customer, who could even be the launch customer.
- Ecojet’s aircraft would all have similar ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric powertrains, although the size might be different.
- Dale Vince would only be sharing the risk, if the technology was a dog.
- De Havilland Canada and/or ATR will see how the passengers like zero-carbon flight.
There is also, one of aviation’s most powerful companies close to the deal, as Airbus own half of ATR.
Airbus are developing the hydrogen-powered ZEROe Turboprop, which is shown in this Airbus image.
Note.
- It looks very much like an improved ATR-72.
- It has more extreme propellers and probably better aerodynamics.
- Airbus might like to persuade Ecojet to use ATR-72s as their 70-seat airliner.
- Information from an operator of hydrogen-powered airliners would be very valuable to Airbus.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ecojet lease some nearly new ATR-72s.
Would Airbus Fit ZeroAvia Hydrogen-Electric Powertrains In The ZEROe Turboprop?
This page on the Airbus website is entitled ZEROe.
In a section, which is entitled Hydrogen Propulsion To Power Future Aircraft, this is said.
All three ZEROe concepts are hybrid-hydrogen aircraft. They are powered by hydrogen combustion through modified gas turbine engines. Liquid hydrogen is used as fuel for combustion with oxygen.
In addition, hydrogen fuel cells create electrical power that complements the gas turbine, resulting in a highly efficient hybrid-electric propulsion system. All of these technologies are complementary, and the benefits are additive.
In 2022, we launched our ZEROe demonstrator with the aim to test hydrogen combustion technology on an A380 multimodal platform. Through future ground and flight testing, we expect to achieve a mature technology readiness level for a hydrogen-combustion propulsion system by 2025.
Note.
- Airbus state they are using modified gas turbine engines.
- Airbus also talk about using fuel cells to create electrical power that complements the gas turbines.
- Could the hydrogen fuel cells be used to power the aircraft’s systems, like avionics, control systems, air-conditioning and the hydrogen system for the main engine?
- This concept of effectively a hydrogen auxiliary power unit, might be a more efficient way of using the hydrogen, which either gives longer range or a smaller fuel tank.
- In The ZEROe Demonstrator Has Arrived, I talk about the ZEROe Demonstrator, which is a modified Airbus A 380.
Did the adding of hydrogen fuel cells to the ZEROe aircraft, lead to the concept of a hydrogen-powered auxiliary power unit, that I talked about in Airbus To Trial In-flight Auxiliary Power Entirely Generated By Hydrogen?
It looks to me, that Airbus have developed their own simple concept of powering the aircraft.
I doubt they will need ZeroAvia’s technology.
But.
- Aircraft manufacturers like Airbus generally fit the best and most suited engines they can find in their aircraft.
- The Wikipedia entry for ZeroAvia says that the prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain is in the cabin, consisting of two fuel cells and a lithium-ion battery for peak power.
- ZeroAvia have powerful shareholders like Amazon, Bill Gates and Royal Dutch Shell.
- ZeroAvia have also received grants from the UK Government.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn, that Airbus have taken a long hard look at ZeroAvia’s technology.
After all, ZeroAvia could probably build a hydrogen fuel cell power pack, that would meet Airbus’s needs for a hydrogen-powered auxiliary power unit.
Remember too, that many fleets of aircraft have been updated with new engines for decades and I don’t think Airbus would mind ZeroAvia giving a new zero-carbon lease of life to the hundreds of ATR-72s in service around the world.
Surely, a successful hydrogen-powered ATR-72 is only going to create more interest in airlines buying ZEROe Turboprops.
All the converted aircraft will still need support from ATR.
Both the converted and new aircraft will need hydrogen refuelling services, so could the two aircraft use a common standard.
Airbus and ZeroAvia would appear to have several common interests.
Ecojet’s Core Route
This is a paragraph from the news story on the Ecotricity web site.
Dale has partnered with experienced pilot Brent Smith and a team of aviation specialists to set up Ecojet. Flights across the UK will commence in early 2024, starting with the Edinburgh to Southampton route, and expanding to mainland Europe shortly after, with long-haul flights planned for the future.
Note.
- The ATR-72 has a range of 949 miles, which is more than adequate for Southampton and Edinburgh, which is just over 350 miles.
- Diagonal journeys in the UK are often the most passenger-unfriendly by rail and tend to use diesel trains.
- Southampton Airport has good road and rail connections, with the terminal less than a minute from the station.
- Edinburgh Airport has good road and tram connections, with rail connections needing a short journey on the tram.
- Southampton Airport has flights to the Channel Islands, Ireland and Schiphol.
- Edinburgh Airport has a comprehensive service from major airlines and low-cost carriers, and several flights to destinations in the North of Scotland and on the Islands.
I think that it is a well-chosen core route for their 70-seat aircraft.
Which Routes Will Ecojet Fly With The Twin Otters?
Consider.
- My Scottish friends tell me that flying to the Scottish Islands, like the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland is expensive.
- The growth of the Scottish wind power industry will mean, that more capacity is needed to serve the North of Scotland and the Islands.
- Tourism to the North of Scotland and the Islands is on the up.
- There will not be a shortage of green electricity to produce green hydrogen.
- The North of Scotland isn’t short of airports.
- The Twin Otter has a surprisingly long range on aviation fuel and I suspect, that a hydrogen version would be designed to have a similar range.
- The longest flight needed would probably be Edinburgh and Sumburgh, which is about 280 miles, which should be well within the range of a Twin Otter.
- I suspect that hydrogen refuelling could be easily provided at enough airports, to support hydrogen-powered airliners.
- I am sure, that the Twin Otters could be used on a network of zero-carbon flights from Edinburgh to the North of Scotland and the Islands.
- A zero-carbon airline would help Scotland’s net-zero ambitions.
There is certainly a need for another airline to connect Edinburgh to the North of Scotland and the Islands and the infrastructure could be upgraded to support a hydrogen-based zero-carbon airline.
Could Ecojet build a similar network at Southampton, that served the Channel Islands, Southern Ireland and Northern France?
Conclusion
There’s a lot more to this venture, than there appears at first sight.
O wish Vince and his partners well, but as a coeliac, I’ll skip the food.
Airbus To Trial In-flight Auxiliary Power Entirely Generated By Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Airbus.
Airbus UpNext has launched a new demonstrator programme to explore, on the ground and in flight, a new architecture for the generation of non propulsive energy through the use of hydrogen fuel cells.
On conventional airliners, the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), a small additional engine that runs on traditional jet fuel, provides together with the engines the energy required to power a number of non-propulsive aircraft functions, such as air conditioning, onboard lighting and electric power for avionics. With this new technology demonstrator, led from its facilities in Spain, Airbus UpNext will replace the actual APU of an A330 with a hydrogen fuel cell system that will generate electricity. Known as HyPower, the hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator also aims to reduce the emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and noise levels associated with a traditional APU.
New design features and integration techniques will also contribute to maturing the safety and operations of future hydrogen-powered aircraft and will demonstrate the stable operation of a fuel cell in-flight, including its restart.
This Airbus infographic describes the system.
This looks to be a well-thought out project and I suspect Airbus will learn a lot about hydrogen and how to use it.
I have some thoughts.
The Noise Factor
Reduction of noise is mentioned in both the text and the infographic, so it must be important.
Years ago, I remember a take-off from St. Lucia, where on the previous day, there had been an engine failure on the flight from London. This meant we were treated to the view of a rare site of a five-engined Jumbo Jet, as the next day’s flight brought in a spare engine on the spare mounting under the wing. Engineers then worked all night to put this engine on the previous day’s stricken plane, whilst we had an extra night in the Carribean.
When it eventually came to leaving, we were on the absolutely crammed-full rescue plane, which was an almost new 747-300.
I remember the plane being positioned at the very Western end of the runway and we waited a long time before take-off. From our position towards the rear of the plane, I couldn’t see if they topped up the fuel tanks but they may have done. The pilot then gave us the good news, that we would be going to Heathrow without the usual intermediate stop at Barbados to take on fuel.
We had no problems, but I suspect the airport’s neighbours on the island didn’t like the screaming noise of the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) disturbing the peace, whilst we waited for take-off.
A hydrogen fuel cell-powered APU could have advantages in some take-offs from perhaps smaller airports. The plane would be towed into position for take-off by a battery-electric aircraft tug, with all aircraft systems running on the hydrogen-powered APU. When everything was ready, the first engine would be started by the power from the APU and then after all engines were started and everything was ready, the plane would take off.
It looks to me, that a hydrogen-powered APU and a zero-carbon aircraft tug, could work together to reduce pre-take off pollution, carbon-dioxide emissions and noise at airports.
The Inflight Restart
Two air incidents, illustrate the need for an inflight restart of the APU.
The Wikipedia entry for the flight describes the crash like this.
British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, to London Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, an 8,100-kilometre (4,400 nmi; 5,000 mi) trip. On 17 January 2008, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft operating the flight crashed just short of the runway while landing at Heathrow. No fatalities occurred; of the 152 people on board, 47 sustained injuries, one serious. It was the first time in the aircraft type’s history that a Boeing 777 was declared a hull loss, and subsequently written off.
Wikipedia gives this as the cause of the accident.
Ice crystals in the jet fuel were blamed as the cause of the accident, clogging the fuel/oil heat exchanger (FOHE) of each engine. This restricted fuel flow to the engines when thrust was demanded during the final approach to Heathrow.
Suppose this problem had occurred earlier and shut the engines down in the middle of Russia. At the 40,000 feet, they were flying, they could have probably been able to glide into the nearest suitable airport and land without main engine power. But the APU would have been needed to power the aircraft’s systems like instruments and air-conditioning.
One of my favourite books is All Four Engines Have Failed by Betty Toothill, who was a passenger on BA 009 on the 24th June 1982.
The Wikipedia entry of the flight starts like this.
British Airways Flight 009, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.
On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a Boeing 747-200 registered as G-BDXH. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung around 110 miles (180 km) south-east of Jakarta, Indonesia, resulting in the failure of all four engines. Partly because the event occurred at night, obscuring the cloud, the reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or air traffic control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.
In this incident, the APU would have been needed to start the engines.
These incidents show how important the APU is to safe flying.
Some might even argue that a hydrogen fuel cell-powered APU running on its own independent hydrogen supply would be preferable than an APU based on a small gas turbine using the same fuel as the main engines.
BAE To Produce Batteries For Electric Passenger Plane
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
BAE Systems is stepping back into the world of passenger aircraft manufacturing by partnering with a Swedish electric planemaker.
I must admit, that I’m not surprised about BAE Systems’s decision.
Aviation needs batteries for many purposes including drones, starting aircraft and auxiliary power sources, so I wouldn’t be surprised that BAE Systems know their batteries.
In The Big Beast In Your Electric Bus, I described the company’s involvement in providing batteries for electric buses in the United States.
As a former private pilot, I’m watching electric aviation with interest.
I am also an applied mathematician and control engineer and feel that electric aviation will always be playing catch up against planes powered by hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel.
Look at some of Airbus’s ZeroE designs, which use hydrogen fuel.
Discover the three zero-emission concept aircraft known as ZEROe in this infographic. These turbofan, turboprop, and blended-wing-body configurations are all hydrogen hybrid aircraft.
Although saying that there are large numbers of orders for electric airliners like this Swedish design and the Eviation Alice.
Preparing For Take-Off: Aviation Embraces Clean Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Ryse Hydrogen.
These three paragraphs introduce the article.
Aviation’s clean hydrogen revolution is coming from all directions.
Taking a bottom-up approach, start-ups such as ZeroAvia are developing technology to convert small aircraft to hydrogen fuel, while at the other end of the spectrum, industry giants such as Airbus and Rolls-Royce are exploring how they can carry hundreds of passengers 1,000s of miles across the world.
The timescales for these projects are very different but progress is visible for both approaches.
The last two paragraphs are optimistic.
Hydrogen fuel could make up 32% of the market by 2050 if it becomes commercially available by 2035, according to a study from climate think-tank Energy Transition Commission.
It would seem that it’s only a matter of time before truly clean air travel is cleared for take-off and hydrogen-powered aircraft are carrying passengers and cargo across the skies.
The article is a good summary of the state of zero-carbon hydrogen-powered aircraft. Read it!
A Thought On Broughton Station
This Google Map shows Hawarden Airport to the West of Chester.
Note.
- Airbus make wings for their aircraft at their Broughton factory on this airport.
- The wings are flown to Europe for final assembly.
- The North Wales Coast Line passes the Northern end of the runway.
When I bought my return ticket between Chester and Holyhead, which was good value at £25.25 with my Senior Railcard, I got chatting with the clerk about Airbus and their Broughton factory.
He felt it needed a station and afterwards I checked and found that the Welsh Government had been trying to build one for some time.
Thinking back, I wonder if he keeps getting asked about getting to the Airbus factory and wishes that the government and Airbus would make his job easier by building a Broughton station.
A station at Broughton might also cut the factory’s carbon footprint, by allowing more staff to go to work by train.
A Merseyrail Extension To Shotton
Shotton is already served by the Borderlands Line which connects Wrexham and Bidston.
This line is shown on the West side of this map, which shows how the Merseyrail network might look in the future.
Note.
- Chester could have services that terminate in the East at Crewe and Runcorn East stations.
- Chester already has electric services from Liverpool, which will receive new Class 777 trains in the next few months.
- The new trains can be fitted with a battery electric capability.
I just wonder, if a Cross-Chester Metro could be built.
- Eastern termini would be Runcorn East or possibly Warrington Bank Quay and Crewe.
- Shotton is only 7.9 miles from Chester.
- Shotton low-level station used to have four tracks.
- I suspect that Shotton or even Flint could be the Western terminus.
- Extra stations could be added as required.
Note.
It would probably be best, if the trains were battery-electric that could use 25 KVAC overhead electrification, as this would allow them to charge at the Eastern termini.
I also feel that Crewe and Chester should be electrified, so that Chester could be reached by the new Class 805 trains running under electric power.
This would also allow Chester to become a High Speed Two destination, that was served by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
I believe that a Cross-Chester Metro is a possibility.
The ZEROe Demonstrator Has Arrived
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Airbus.
This is the introductory paragraph.
2022 marks a new and exciting phase for ZEROe – Airbus’ ambition to develop the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. The multi-year demonstrator programme has officially been launched with the objective to test a variety of hydrogen technologies both on the ground and in the air.
The ZEROe demonstrator will be the first Airbus A 380 aircraft and it is shown in this Airbus visualisation.
Note.
- The four hydrogen tanks in the fuselage.
- The fifth engine mounted in a pod on the fuselage.
- There’s certainly lots of space inside the fuselage for more hydrogen tanks and test and monitoring equipment.
I have a few thoughts.
This Aircraft Will Be A Superb Demonstrator
The press release says this about the use of an A 380 as a demonstrator.
The A380 is the world’s largest and most spacious passenger jet ever built – a size that makes it ideally suited to the role of test platform.
Today, the A380 MSN1 test aircraft is earmarked for a new role: to take the lead on testing the technologies that will be vital to bringing the world’s first zero-emission aircraft to market by 2035.
“The A380 MSN1 is an excellent flight laboratory platform for new hydrogen technologies,” says Mathias Andriamisaina, Airbus ZEROe Demonstrator Leader. “It’s a safe and reliable platform that is highly versatile to test a wide range of zero-emission technologies. In addition, the platform can comfortably accommodate the large flight test instrumentation that will be needed to analyse the performance of the hydrogen in the hydrogen-propulsion system.”
Initially, I suspect the aircraft will fly as a four-engined turbofan aircraft running on standard or sustainable aviation fuel.
The performance of the hydrogen engine will be tested in all phases of operation and at different altitudes.
What Size Is The Fifth Engine?
This layout is clever.
If Airbus want to test a smaller hydrogen engine for say an Airbus A 320-sized hydrogen aircraft like the ZEROe Turbofan shown in this Airbus visualisation, they fit it to the fifth pylon.
Note.
- The fifth pylon on the ZEROe Demonstrator could be the proposed pylon for the ZEROe Turbofan.
- The ZEROe Demonstrator could probably carry a lot of hydrogen to test out the hydrogen engine over a long duration.
- The hydrogen engine could be tested out over the full flight envelop of an Airbus A 380.
I would suspect that the tests on the hydrogen engine would be some of the most comprehensive ever carried out on a new engine.
If Airbus want to test a larger hydrogen engine for say an Airbus A 350-sized hydrogen aircraft, they would probably replace one of the four main engines with the hydrogen engine.
It looks like Airbus will be able to test hydrogen engines for all sizes of plane in their current range.
What Will Happen To Current A 380s?
Consider.
- The production of the A 380 has been stopped.
- There are 251 aircraft in service.
- They appear to be a reliable and safe aircraft.
- The aircraft can run on sustainable aviation fuel.
- The oldest aircraft are only thirteen years old.
- They are still reasonably modern aircraft, that if they needed to be updated to the latest standards could probably be easily done so.
- The aircraft have a lot of volume, which can hold over 500 passengers in a typical configuration.
- The flying characteristics and structure of the aircraft is well known.
I suspect there are a lot of aircraft leasing companies, who feel these aircraft are too good to scrap, just because they are not zero-carbon.
Could Hydrogen Be Stored In The Wing Of An A 380?
Hydrogen storage will get more capable in the next few years and we will see hydrogen stored in strange places in vehicles and aircraft using the gas as a fuel.
The A 380 may well have an advantage in that its wing is relatively thick compared to that of other airliners.
- The A 380 has a wing aspect ratio of 7.53.
- The Boeing 787 has a wing aspect ratio of 11.
- Gliders have wing aspect ratios as upwards of 30.
High aspect ratios are generally more economical on fuel.
But this relatively thick wing, may make it possible to store hydrogen in the wing of an A 380.
Could There Be A Hydrogen-Powered A 380?
I suspect part of the Airbus ZEROe progam will be to investigate the possibility of converting existing A 380 aircraft into a capable hydrogen-powered aircraft.
In Could An A320 neo Be Rebuilt As A ZEROe Turbofan?, I looked at the possibility of turning an existing Airbus A 320 neo into a ZEROe Turbofan running on hydrogen.
This was my conclusion.
I very much feel that there will be a route to convert some or all of the A 320 neo aircraft to hydrogen power.
So what will a ZEROe A 380 look like if it follows the same design route as an A 320 neo to a ZEROe Turbofan?
- There would be a large hydrogen tank in the rear fuselage.
- As I explained earlier, there may be a possibility for some hydrogen to be stored in the wing.
- Both passenger decks would be shortened and perhaps be able to hold the 350-410 passengers of the Airbus A350-1000.
- The cockpit, front part of the fuselage, wings, tailplane and landing gear would be unchanged.
- The aircraft would fit existing jetways at any airport, that can handle an existing A 380.
I believe that converting an existing Airbus A380 to a hydrogen-powered aircraft is possible and the conversion falls within Barnes Wallis‘s rule of problem solving.
There is no greater thrill in life, that proving something is impossible and then showing how it can be done.
The quote comes from a BBC program, where he was interviewed by Chris Brasher, who was another for whom impossible was just a minor hurdle in the way of meeting objectives.
Could There Be A Hydrogen-Powered A 380 Freighter?
Consider.
- I think it is likely, that companies like Amazon will come under pressure over their carbon footprint, as they transport increasing numbers of packages around the world.
- In DHL Express Shapes Future For Sustainable Aviation With First Order Of All-Electric Cargo Planes From Eviation, I talk about how DHL Express have ordered twelve Eviation Alice aircraft to create a zero-carbon service. DHL must feel this would be good for their image. So would they like an intercontinental zero-carbon freighter?
- Some people worry about the air-miles on their food!
There could be a worthwhile niche market for a high capacity intercontinental zero-carbon freighter.
Because it has such a large internal volume, an Airbus A 380 might make an ideal aircraft to convert.
Conclusion
Airbus will learn a lot from the ZEROe Demonstrator.
They may even learn how to develop, a long-range hydrogen-powered zero-carbon A 380 variant that could carry four hundred passengers between Europe and Australia.
Fortescue Future Industries And Airbus Join Forces To Help Decarbonise Aviation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Fortescue Future Industries.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Global green hydrogen company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Airbus, a world leader in aeronautics, have joined forces to create a working alliance to help enable the aviation industry to decarbonise through zero-emissions green hydrogen.
Today’s announcement reflects FFI’s and Airbus’ shared ambition to leverage their respective expertise to support the entry-into-service of a green hydrogen-based aircraft by 2035. Green hydrogen, unlike other forms of hydrogen, is made from water using 100 per cent renewable electricity.
I think this is a smart move by Airbus.
It could be argued that hydrogen trucks, buses, cars, vans and other road vehicles have not taken off at a great rate due to the lack of hydrogen filling stations.
Hydrogen airliners travelling on typical routes will probably need refuelling at both ends of the route and possibly several times per day, so hydrogen refuelling would be an important part of any deal Airbus signs with an airline.
Fortescue Future Industries seem to be in prime position to be the first global hydrogen company, so they must be the ideal hydrogen fuelling partner.
I don’t think anybody predicted, when Airbus published the possible designs of their concepts for hydrogen-powered aircraft in September 2020, that I wrote about in ZEROe – Towards The World’s First Zero-Emission Commercial Aircraft, that an Australian company would be likely to provide the hydrogen fuel for these aircraft.
Universal Hydrogen CEO Sees Jetmakers Backing New Fuel
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Reuters.
It is mainly predictions by Paul Eremenko, who is Chief Executive of Universal Hydrogen, about the future of the single-aisle jet airliner market.
I wrote in detail about their technology in Could Universal Hydrogen’s Concept Create A Hydrogen-Powered Single-Aisle Airliner?.
I firmly believe they have a concept that will work and look forward to flying in a hydrogen-powered aircraft using Universal Hydrogen’s technology before the end of the decade.
The Anonymous Widower 