No Shortcuts In Evia Aero’s Path To Being Europe’s First Green Regional Airline
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on FutureFlight.
This is the first paragraph.
The closer you examine the task of establishing a green airline, the clearer it becomes that it does not begin and end with sourcing net zero carbon aircraft. Evia Aero is a case in point in that while the German start-up has made provisional commitments to a pair of electric aircraft developers, for now, it is more preoccupied with getting a somewhat daunting operational ecosystem in place.
The article is an interesting read and certainly follows this old joke about aviation.
If you want to make a small fortune in aviation, start with a large fortune.
The article is mainly drawn from an interview with the founder of Evia Aero; Florian Kruse and these are some of his thoughts.
On Sustainability
This paragraph talks about a truly sustainable aviation company.
First you have to be sure that you can operate as a truly sustainable aviation company,” Evia Aero founder Florian Kruse told FutureFlight. The Bremen-based venture plans to invest in photovoltaic (PV) solar energy plants at the airports it intends to serve to fulfill its commitment to being self-sufficient in green energy, which could include electricity and hydrogen fuel. The next step will be installing the required refueling and recharging facilities.
I’ll agree with that objective, but is it an affordable commitment?
On An Air Operator Certificate
This paragraph talks about an Air Operator Certificate.
Only when these tasks are well advanced, probably in 2024, will Evia Aero secure the air operator certificate it needs to launch commercial scheduled services in Europe. The company has yet to determine whether it will establish an operation from scratch or acquire an existing AOC holder.
Having seen a friend struggle to get an airline going, I wonder, if existing AOC holders will have an advantage in getting fully certified.
Why Not Start A Traditional Airline And Transition To A Green One?
This was Florian Kruse’s answer.
Some people ask us why we don’t just start operating normal [fossil-fuel-burning] aircraft today and then make a transition [to net zero],But we don’t think that works. The only way to be successful in this is to be green with everything from the start.
But by his choice of the Britten-Norman Islander, Florian is taking a conservative route with a proven small airliner, that has been flown into hundreds, if not thousands, of airfields all over Europe and the wider world.
I suspect too, that a lot of experienced Islander pilots from all over the world, will want to add these aircraft to their log book. So recruitment of top quality pilots will not be a problem!
Refuelling And Maintenance
This is said about refuelling and maintenance.
In this regard, Evia Aero’s strategy isn’t based purely on a sustainability agenda. It views the plans for refueling and maintenance as key parts of its revenue stream.
Does this mean, it will be supplying support services to other operators of zero-carbon aircraft?
It should be remembered that the business model of some companies is based heavily on a business aircraft. Will these companies change their philosophy or change the aircraft?
One company that used business jets to sell construction equipment in the past was JCB. Prospective customers would be flown to the UK for demonstrations at their test site near the factory. GEC also used to use their business jet creatively.
The Eviation Alice, which Evia Aero intend to fly, will also be available in a six-seat business configuration.
I can imagine many companies using zero-carbon business aircraft creatively and to send the right message to customers and green activists, who haven’t been friendly in the past.
Thinking about this, as I type, I think that zero-carbon business aircraft could be a significant sector of the zero-carbon aircraft market. It would also appeal to many politicians, royalty, innovative business me and women and the very rich.
In the case of King Charles, I suspect a six-seat Eviation Alice or similar based at Northolt Airport would cost less to run than the Royal Train.
Pricing
This is said on pricing.
It believes (passengers) will pay a premium to access airfields in locations across northern Europe that are not well served by road and rail links.
I’ll go with that, as many years ago, I needed to go to Stavanger for a day or so from Ipswich. So I flew Air Anglia from Norwich in a Bandeirante, rather than go from Heathrow with a change at Oslo.
Backing And Expertise
This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.
Evia Aero is not without expertise as it seeks to put these building blocks in place. One of its backers, Energiequelle, is involved in a business that owns and operates PV plants in Finland and Germany. Its leadership team also includes Gerd Weber, CEO of regional airline OLT, and the chair of its advisory board is Axel Trampnau, who previously ran the carrier Germania.
That seems reasonably strong.
If Energiequelle live up the mission statement on their web site, they could be particularly useful.
Hydrogen-Powered Islanders
This is said about their purchase of conversion kits for Islanders to be converted to hydrogen power.
Under current plans, the first aircraft in the Evia Aero flight will be nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islanders under a plan being advanced by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) to convert the piston-powered models to hydrogen propulsion. Evia Aero expects these aircraft to be ready to enter service in 2026 and has agreed to buy 15 of the conversion kits.
The Islander may have flown nearly sixty years ago, but nearly 1300 have been built and they are still being manufactured, so there should be plenty available from conversion and spare parts shouldn’t be a problem.
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, is a spin-out of Cranfield University and the article says this about an ongoing project between CAeS and Evia Aero.
In 2022, the new airline signed a wider agreement with CAeS covering a provisional order for 10 hydrogen-powered 19-seat aircraft. The companies have not yet determined whether these would be conversions of existing aircraft or a clean-sheet design. Under the UK’s Project Fresson, CAeS is working on plans for new 19- and 75-seat zero-emissions regional airliners.
CAeS look like another serious contender in the zero-carbon airliner market.
Eviation Alice
This is said about the Eviation Alice.
Evia Aero has signed a memorandum of understanding covering provisional orders for 25 of Eviation’s nine-passenger, all-electric Alice aircraft. It expects to add the first of these to its fleet in 2028, a year after the U.S.-based manufacturer now says it aims to complete type certification, initially with the FAA.
Note.
- Alice is running two years behind the Islander.
- Certifying the Islander should be easier as it is an existing airliner.
I could see the earlier delivery and entry into service of the Islander, being used to develop the business.
Range And Routes
This is said about range and routes.
With either of these aircraft, Evia Aero will be launching its services with the equipment providing a modest payload and range. The Cranfield Islanders will be able to fly up to around 200 kilometers (109 nm), while Eviation last year reduced its range projections from 440 to 250 nm, citing the limitations of current battery technology.
Kruse accepts these limitations, while already laying plans to add subsequent 19-seat aircraft to his fleet. He showed FutureFlight route maps for both aircraft including planned destinations extending along the North Sea and Channel coasts from Denmark through Germany and the Benelux countries and into France and the UK.
- The range isn’t that long.
- It is 629 kilometres between Evia Aero’s base at Bremen and Southend.
- Schiphol is closer at 89 kilometres with Groningen at 147 kilometres.
But the interesting one is Heligoland at 139 kilometres.
Heligoland
This Google Map shows the archipelago.
Note.
- Heligoland is the island in the West.
- Düne is the island in the East.
- You can just pick out the characteristic pattern of Heligoland Airport‘s three concrete runways.
Why would anybody want to go to a rock in the North Sea?
This article on the Guardian, which is entitled Heligoland: Germany’s Hidden Gem In The North Sea, gives lots of reasons, including.
- History.
- It is a regular day trip from the German coast by ship.
- It used to be British.
- It could be at the heart of offshore wind developments.
But for German day-trippers, it’s probably the attraction of the island being duty-free.
It could be a nice little earner for an airline based in Bremen and it would be within the range of the Islanders.
A Pattern Of German Islands
This Google Map shows the German corner of the North Sea.
Note.
- The island of Heligoland at the top of the map.
- Bremen in the South-East corner of the map.
- The string of islands along the German and Dutch coasts.
- The red area marks out the most-Easterly island of Wangerooge.
This Google Map shows Wangerooge in detail.
Flugplatz Wangerooge is in the South-East corner of the map.
- It has an 850 metre asphalt runway.
- The island appears to have a sizeable beach.
- The island has a population of around 1200.
The Wikipedia entry for Wangerooge says this about the character of the island.
In order to guarantee a relaxed atmosphere, cars are prohibited on the island. The island can be reached by ship from Harlesiel, or it can be reached by plane via its airfield, regular service being offered from Harlesiel, Bremen, or Hamburg. The ferries leave at different times every day according to the tide. As on most East Frisian Islands, a small narrow gauge railway line, the Wangerooge Island Railway, connects the harbor to the main village.
The Wikipedia entry, for the Wangerooge Island Railway gives a lot of detail about what looks to be a fascinating railway, including this opening paragraph.
The single track Wangerooge Island Railway (Wangerooger Inselbahn) is an unelectrified narrow gauge railway with a track gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) located on the East Frisian island of Wangerooge off the northwestern coast of Germany. It is the most important means of transport on the island and is the only narrow gauge railway operated today by the Deutsche Bahn.
I must visit next time, I go to Hamburg.
Working towards the West the next airfield, I can find is on Langeoog, which is shown in this Google Map.
Flugplatz Langeoog is marked by the blue arrow towards the South-East corner of the map.
Working towards the West the next airfield, I can find is on Nordeney, which is shown on this Google Map.
Flughaven Nordeney is at the bottom of the map.
It has a 1000 metre runway and judging by the planes on the map, it is very busy.
Continuing West brings me to the Eastern end of the island of Juist, which is shown on this Google Map.
Flugplatz Juist is indicated the rightmost blue arrow. This extract from the Wikipedia entry, illustrates the importance of this airfield.
As of 2013, the airfield had up to 500 takeoffs and landings on weekends, the second most aircraft movements in the state of Lower Saxony, after Hannover Airport. The airfield is a critical piece of infrastructure for the island, due to ferry traffic being dependent on the tides.
The airfield was also the first on the East Frisian Islands to have a paved runway
Continuing West brings me to Borkum, which is shown on this Google Map.
Note.
Borkum Airport is in the Eastern half of the map.
- It has a 1000 metre asphalt runway.
- Borkum has a population of around 5000.
On this brief exploration of the German East Frisian Islands, I have been surprised to find five airfields; Borkum, Juist, Langeoog, Nordeney and Wangerooge.
- All seem to have asphalt or concrete runways.
- Were these runways built as part of a plan to improve transport to the islands, as it appears the tides make the ferries a bit variable?
It also appears that the islands are totally or at least partially car-free.
On one island I noticed that the taxis are horse-drawn carriages.
So does this all fit well with the philosophy of Evia Aero of flying zero-carbon aircraft?
I suspect it does.
I also think, that Evia Aero’s thinking has been influenced by recent events in the area, which I talked about in From Groningen To Leer By Train.
- To put it simply, a freighter called the Emsmoon, demolished the Freisenbrücke, which carries the Groningen and Bremen railway over the River Ems.
- Zero-carbon aircraft flying between Groningen and Bremen would be a viable and quicker and more comfortable alternative to the bus I took.
I wonder if Evia Aero are planning a service between Groningen and Bremen.
- Groningen and Bremen is 147 kilometres.
- Islanders can cruise at 240 kph.
- The service could call at the five intermediate airports.
- I would reckon, that the service would take about an hour between Groningen and Bremen.
- The aircraft would be refuelled at Groningen and Bremen.
- I am fairly certain that two planes could run an hourly service.
I also suspect that the ticketing could be run by an app and if there were no passengers wanting to get on or off at an intermediate stop, then the plane would continue to the next stop, which would save fuel. If a passenger missed a plane, there would be only a wait of an hour until the next one.
Get this right and if it proves successful, then extra services could be added, to create a true Turn-Up-And-Go air service.
Landing And Take-Off Performance
This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.
Both the Islander and the Alice offer short takeoff and landing performance that will allow them to get in and out via limited runways in small communities. In the case of the Islander, which has been in service for several decades, it will even be able to operate from grass landing strips.
Every little helps.
Islanders can also use sand runways, as they do at Barra.
Refueling The Islanders
This image of the hydrogen-powered Islander was clipped from the Cranfield Aerospace Solutions’ home page.
Consider.
- Many years ago, I had fun with a farmer friend moving a lot of apples in boxes, that were destined for Aspall Cyder with his forklift. The machine was powered by gas in a cylinder strapped horizontally behind the driver.
- We ran out of gas halfway through and it was a simple matter of disconnecting the bottle and connecting another.
- Drop tanks have been used in military aircraft for almost a hundred years.
- Universal Hydrogen refuels its hydrogen-powered aircraft by changing a fuel capsule.
Look at the above picture and note the two green cylinders under the wings.
- Could they be two hydrogen tanks for the aircraft?
- They appear to have some aerodynamic features. Could this reduce drag, but increase lift?
- Could they be cylinders for the hydrogen fuel?
- If they are fuel cylinders, is it possible for one or two people and/or possibly a special truck to easily swap an empty one for a full one?
Fast refuelling would allow the aircraft to work hard.
Connecting To Major Hubs
My proposed East Frisian Islands service, only connects to Groningen and Bremen on the mainland.
- Schiphol and Groningen Airports are only 93 kilometres apart.
- Bremen and Hamburg Airports are only 103 kilometres apart.
After refuelling, flying on without a change of plane to a major hub would be possible.
Channel Hops
This is said about range.
With either of these aircraft, Evia Aero will be launching its services with the equipment providing a modest payload and range. The Cranfield Islanders will be able to fly up to around 200 kilometers (109 nm), while Eviation last year reduced its range projections from 440 to 250 nm, citing the limitations of current battery technology.
The only hops, I can find less than two hundred kilometres are.
- Calais and Manston – 61 kilometres
- Calais and Lydd – 71 kilometres
- Calais and Southend – 111 kilometres
- Le Touquet and Lydd – 69 kilometres
- Le Touquet and Manston – 94 kilometres
- Le Touquet and Southend – 134 kilometres
- Ostend and Manston – 107 kilometres
- Ostend and Lydd – 138 kilometres
- Ostend and Southend – 210 kilometres
- Cherbourg and Southampton – 147 kilometres
Note.
- Manston and Southend are probably the two best British airports, as they have or will have a rail connection.
- Only Le Touquet has a railway station close to the airport on the European side.
I do suspect, that Eurostar could kill channel-hopping, by adding extra services.
Possible Markets
The methodology developed at Bremen, could probably be applied to other services around Europe and the wider world.
This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.
Evia Aero, which Kruse said is already in talks with as many as 30 regional airports about possible air services, is also eyeing the Nordic countries, the UK’s islands, and parts of southern Germany as target markets. Norway with its mountainous coastline seems a promising early adopter for short flights in net zero aircraft, not least because the country’s government plans to ban conventional aircraft on domestic routes from 2030.
The low noise of the electric aircraft might make them acceptable, where other aircraft have been rejected in the past.
Conclusion
T think Evia Aero plans are sound, but I do wonder whether the freighter trashing the railway got Florian Kruse and his friends thinking.
Aerospace Electrified By New Technology
The title of this post, is the same as of this article on the BBC.
The article is a good summary of the state of zero-carbon aviation.
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.
Could Universal Hydrogen’s Concept Create A Hydrogen-Powered Single-Aisle Airliner?
Universal Hydrogen are making some of what I would consider the right moves.
Hydrogen Supply
Universal Hydrogen have signed a supply contract with Fortescue Future Industries for the supply of green hydrogen.
The deal is described in this press release on the FFI web site, which is entitled FFI And Universal Hydrogen Join Forces To Decarbonise Aviation.
Collaboration With Airbus
There is an article on BusinessWire, which is entitled Universal Hydrogen Announces New Engineering Development Center Located In Toulouse, France, The Heart of European Aviation.
Toulouse is the home of Airbus.
The Capsule Concept
The capsule concept could be universal.
These are widths of various planes and trains.
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 – 2.52 metres – Internal
- Airbus ATR 72 – 2.57 metres- Internal
- Airbus A320neo – 3.7 metres – Internal
- Boeing 737 – 3.53 metres – Internal
- Class 800 train – 2.7 metres – External
- Class 66 locomotive – 2.65 metres – External
I suspect that if the design is correct, then one size of capsule can be made to fit a variety of applications.
Application To Regional Aviation
I discussed this in Flybe Appears To Be On The Way Back.
I believe that De Havilland Canada Dash 8s and Airbus ATR 72s could be converted to hydrogen.
Road Transport
Surely, the capsules would be too big for road transport in the UK and many other countries.
But they would probably be ideal to deliver hydrogen to bus and truck depots and filling stations for hydrogen vehicles. They would just be plugged in and then could start dispensing the fuel.
Decarbonation Of Diesel Locomotives
Consider.
- The cross-section of a diesel locomotive even in the UK, is larger than that of a regional airliner.
- Most of the space in the body of a diesel locomotive is taken up by a large diesel engine.
- Fuel ells or a small gas turbine could be small compared to the diesel engine.
- Most existing diesel locomotives have electric transmissions.
I believe that many diesel-electric locomotives could be converted to hydrogen power and some could use Universal Hydrogen’s capsules.
Zero-Carbon Backup Generators
Many pieces of important infrastructure, like data centres, hospitals and large railway stations have backup generators.
Universal Hydrogen’s capsules could provide hydrogen for zero-carbon backup generators.
Universal Hydrogen’s Ideas For Single-Aisle Airliners
In the Product page on the Universal Hydrogen web site, there is a section, which is entitled Single Aisle / Narrowbody, where this is the first two sentences.
The majority of aviation emissions are produced by the single aisle (also known as narrowbody) fleet, dominated by the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families of aircraft. Both Boeing and Airbus are likely to develop a replacement for these venerable models for entry into service in the mid 2030s.
Alongside the text is this graphic, which compares various airliners.
Universal Hydrogen are proposing that Airbus stretch the A321, so that hydrogen capsules can be fitted in the rear of the fuselage, so that the aircraft has similar proportions to the Boeing 757.
Read the full text on the Product page of the Universal Hydrogen web site.
I can see that if they could prove the concept with the Regional Airliner, they could develop the two concepts shown in the graphic.
Conclusion
This is a simple, but very exciting project.
Flybe Appears To Be On The Way Back
I was alerted to the relaunch of the Flybe airline being a serious proposition by this article on the Birmingham Mail, which is entitled Watch As First Of 32 New Flybe Planes Lands At Birmingham Airport.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The first of Flybe’s more eco-friendly planes has landed in Birmingham ready for the launch of the airline’s new city HQ.
Part of a planned 32-aircraft fleet, the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprop touched down on the runway at Birmingham Airport on Friday.
The new Flybe will be based at Birmingham Airport and will have a fleet consisting of thirty-two De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft.
The De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400
Note these facts about the aircraft.
- According to Wikipedia, 645 aircraft have been ordered, with 587 having been delivered.
- Different variants can handle between 40 and 80 passengers.
- All aircraft delivered since 1996 are dubbed Q-Series and have active noise and vibration suppression, which is designed to improve the cabin ambience.
- A Dash 8-400 is also called a Q400.
But the most interesting development of the Dash 8 aircraft, is that developments are underway, so that the aircraft will be able to be powered by hydrogen.
Universal Hydrogen And A Hydrogen-Powered Q400
This article on Future Flight is entitled Universal Assembles Hydrogen Aircraft Conversion Team In Washington State.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Universal Hydrogen and its hydrogen fuel cell partner Plug Power are joining forces with electric motor specialists MagniX and AeroTec to set up a Hydrogen Aviation Test and Service Center at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. The partners will use the new facility to convert a Dash 8 regional airliner to hydrogen propulsion in time to start commercial operations in 2025. Flight testing is due to begin in 2022.
The new hydrogen powertrain will consist of an electric propulsion unit (EPU) developed by MagniX and fuel cells provided by Plug Power, which has extensive experience converting trucks to hydrogen. Seattle-based AeroTec will take the lead on converting the Dash 8s to hydrogen propulsion, conducting flight tests, and arranging for certification under FAA supplemental type certificates. The system installation work will be conducted at the Moses Lake facility.
This paragraph gives details of the design.
The hydrogen-powered Dash 8 aircraft, which carry between 41 and 60 passengers, will be able to operate on routes of up to around 625 miles. Universal Hydrogen’s plan calls for the fuel to be delivered directly to aircraft in capsules that are installed in a compartment at the rear of the fuselage.
These are my thoughts on the design.
Power Required
Wikipedia says this about the engines of the Dash 8-400 (Q400).
The Series 400 uses Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines rated at 4,850 shp (3,620 kW).
This means that the aircraft will need fuel cells capable of delivering over 7 MW.
This data sheet on the Plug Power web site, says that the company has fuel cells up to 125 KW, which weigh 350 Kg and need a cooling module, that weighs a further 103 Kg. Scaling up shows the power unit could weigh around 25.4 tonnes.
As the maximum take-off weight of a Q400 is around 30.5 tonnes, this wouldn’t leave much weight for the airframe, the two electric motors and propellers, the hydrogen and the passengers and their luggage.
It would appear that Plug Power must be using some form of lighter-weight fuel cell.
Or could they be using an appropriately-sized gas turbine generator from Pratt & Whitney Canada?
It should be noted that a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engine, weighs under a tonne and generates over 3.5 MW.
Obviously, they wouldn’t be developing the plane, if they hadn’t figured out how to generate enough electricity to get it off the ground.
The Hydrogen Capsules
The Product page on the Universal Hydrogen web site is revealing.
This paragraph from the Product page describes how they would convert Regional Aircraft to Hydrogen.
Our first product is a conversion kit for existing regional aircraft, starting with the ATR72 and the De Havilland Canada Dash-8, to fly on hydrogen. This consists of a fuel cell electric powertrain that replaces the existing turboprop engines. It also accommodates, in the rear of the fuselage, our proprietary, lightweight, modular hydrogen capsules that are transported from green hydrogen production sites to the airport and loaded directly into the aircraft using the existing intermodal freight network and cargo handling equipment. By providing both an aircraft conversion solution for the existing fleet and a fuel services offering directly to regional airlines, we will be in passenger service with zero emissions by 2025 and in cargo service shortly thereafter.
Note.
- The cutaway on the Product page of a De Havilland Canada Dash-8, which has three capsules in the rear fuselage.
- The cutaway shows forty seats in the aircraft.
- If you scroll the pictures, you’ll see the design of the capsule.
- The product can be used to convert two regional airliners both of which are in production.
- Airports will need no new infrastructure to handle the hydrogen.
Universal Hydrogen has also signed a deal with Fortescue Future Industries to supply green hydrogen to fill the capsules.
Are A First Flight In 2022 And An in-Service Date Of 2025 Over Ambitious?
The article in Future Flight says this.
AeroTec will take the lead on converting the Dash 8s to hydrogen propulsion, conducting flight tests, and arranging for certification under FAA supplemental type certificates.
FAA Supplemental Type Certificates are outlined on this page on the FAA web site, where this introductory paragraph is given.
A supplemental type certificate (STC) is a type certificate (TC) issued when an applicant has received FAA approval to modify an aeronautical product from its original design. The STC, which incorporates by reference the related TC, approves not only the modification but also how that modification affects the original design.
They are a much-used and well-proven method to update aircraft for new purposes and new power units.
I suspect that going this route will enable Q400 and ATR 72 aircraft will be flying on hydrogen by 2025.
How Far Will A Range Of 625 Miles Take The Plane From Birmingham?
I have used the Air Miles Calculator to calculate distances in miles from Birmingham.
- Amsterdam Schiphol – 276
- Barcelona – 791
- Belfast City 225
- Berlin Schönefeld – 644
- Biarritz – 621
- Bilbao – 635
- Bordeaux – 529
- Cologne – 397
- Copenhagen – 624
- Cork – 290
- Dublin – 200
- Dusseldorf – 373
- Edinburgh – 251
- Frankfurt – 452
- Geneva – 556
- Glasgow – 260
- Hamburg – 495
- Inverness – 364
- Jersey – 225
- Kirkwall – 474
- Lerwick – 536
- Lyon – 558
- Munich – 660
- Newcastle – 179
- Newquay – 198
- Nice – 735
- Oslo – 726
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle – 303
- Paris-Orly – 315
- Rotterdam – 265
- Strasbourg – 494
Note.
- It might be possible to serve some routes without refuelling at the other end.
- Some routes could be paired for efficiency and still be well below 600 miles.
- The large intercontinental airports of Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt and Paris-Charles de Gaulle should be reached easily.
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has a well-connected railway station.
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport has a TGV station.
- Frankfurt Airport has a long distance railway station on the Cologne-Frankfurt high speed line.
- If you’re flying to the South of France or Switzerland, it looks like flying from London City Airport is about a hundred miles shorter.
It would appear that the range of 625 miles could be very useful, especially if you use a long distance train at both ends of the flight.
I can certainly understand why Flybe has chosen Birmingham as its main base.
Will Flybe Convert Their Aircraft To Hydrogen?
This is obviously up to the company, but if they don’t, someone else will and Flybe will lose their regional market in the UK.
Conclusion
I think those behind the new Flybe could be looking to create the UK’s first zero-carbon airline.
ZEROe – Towards The World’s First Zero-Emission Commercial Aircraft
The title of this post, is the same as that of this Press Release from Airbus.
This is the introductory paragraph.
At Airbus, we have the ambition to develop the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. Hydrogen propulsion will help us to deliver on this ambition. Our ZEROe concept aircraft enable us to explore a variety of configurations and hydrogen technologies that will shape the development of our future zero-emission aircraft.
Overall, the Press Release discloses a lot and gives details of three different aircraft, which are shown in this Airbus infographic.
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.
I have some thoughts that apply to all three concepts.
Hydrogen Hybrid Power
The Press Release says this about the propulsion systems for the three aircraft.
All three ZEROe concepts are hydrogen hybrid 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.
There is a Wikipedia entry which is entitled Hydrogen Fuel, where this is said.
Once produced, hydrogen can be used in much the same way as natural gas – it can be delivered to fuel cells to generate electricity and heat, used in a combined cycle gas turbine to produce larger quantities of centrally produced electricity or burned to run a combustion engine; all methods producing no carbon or methane emissions.
It looks like the aircraft will be powered by engines that are not too different to the current engines in today’s aircraft.
This must be a big advantage, in that much of the research done to improve the current gas-turbine powered by aviation fuel will apply.
Liquid Hydrogen
It appears all three aircraft will use liquid hydrogen.
Liquid Hydrogen Storage
I believe the major uses for hydrogen will be aircraft, buses, cars, rail locomotives and multiple units and heavy trucks.
All will need efficient storage of the hydrogen.
Some applications, will use it in liquid form, as it is a more dense form, but it will need to be kept cold.
As aviation will probably be the most demanding application, will it drive the storage technology?
Oxygen
This will be atmospheric oxygen, which is used by any combustion engine.
Fuel Cells
Will the fuel cells be used to provide power for the plane’s systems, rather than to power the aircraft?
Most airlines do this with an auxiliary power unit or APU, which is just a small gas-turbine engine with a generator. The A 320 family use one made by Pratt & Whitney, which is described on this page of their web site. It is the third one on the page and is called a APS3200. This is said about its function.
Pratt & Whitney APS3200 is the Airbus baseline APU of choice for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. It is designed to meet performance and environmental requirements for modern day, single-aisle aircraft. The APU comprises a single-shaft, fixedspeed, high-pressure ratio core driving a load compressor that provides bleed air for cabin conditioning and main engine starting, concurrent with 90kVA of electrical power.
The APU is usually located in the tail.
In the ZEROe family will there be a fuel-cell powered compressor to provide bleed air for cabin airconditioning and main engine starting?
Slippery Aerodynamics
Airbus seem to be the masters of slippery aerodynamics, which will help make the planes very fuel efficient.
Lightweight Composite Structures
Like the latest Airbus airliners, these planes will be made from lightweight composite structures and I wouldn’t be surprised to see weight saving in other parts of the aircraft.
Carbon Emissions And Pollution
There will be no carbon dioxide produced, as where’s the carbon in the fuel?
But there could be small amounts of the oxides of nitrogen produced, by the combustion, as nitrogen will be present from the air.
Noise
As the aircraft are powered by gas-turbine engines, there will be some noise.
The Mathematics Of Hydrogen-Powered Aviation
The mathematics for these three aircraft must say, that the designs are feasible.
Otherwise Airbus wouldn’t have published a detailed Press Release, only for it to be torn to pieces.
Pressures Driving Aviation In The Next Ten Years
Aviation will change in the text ten years and it will be driven by various competing forces.
Environmental Issues
Pollution, Carbon Emissions and Noise will be the big environmental issues.
Hydrogen will go a long way to reducing the first two issues, but progress with noise will generally be made by better engineering.
COVID-19 And Future Pandemics
These could have a bigger effect, as to make flying safe in these troubled times, passengers will need to be given more space.
But I do wonder, if there is an administrative solution, backed up, by innovative engineering.
Could a very quick test for COVID-19, that would stop infected passengers boarding, coupled with high quality automatic cleaning and air purification, ensure that passengers didn’t get infected?
Entry Into Service
Airbus are quoting 2035 in the Press Release and this YouTube video.
Is that ambitious?
Thoughts On The Three Designs
My thoughts on the three designs, follow in the next three sections.
The ZEROe Turboprop
This is Airbus’s summary of the design for the ZEROe Turboprop.
Two hybrid hydrogen turboprop engines, which drive the six bladed propellers, provide thrust. The liquid hydrogen storage and distribution system is located behind the rear pressure bulkhead.
This screen capture taken from the video, shows the plane.
It certainly is a layout that has been used successfully, by many conventionally-powered aircraft in the past. The De Havilland Canada Dash 8 and ATR 72 are still in production.
The Turboprop Engines
If you look at the Lockheed-Martin C 130J Super Hercules, you will see it is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines, that drive 6-bladed Dowty R391 composite constant-speed fully-feathering reversible-pitch propellers.
These Rolls-Royce engines are a development of an Allison design, but they also form the heart of Rolls-Royce’s 2.5 MW Generator, that I wrote about in Our Sustainability Journey. The generator was developed for use in Airbus’s electric flight research program.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find the following.
- , The propulsion system for this aircraft is under test with hydrogen at Derby and Toulouse.
- Dowty are testing propellers suitable for the aircraft.
- Serious research is ongoing to store enough liquid hydrogen in a small tank that fits the design.
Why develop something new, when Rolls-Royce, Dowty and Lockheed have done all the basic design and testing?
The Fuselage
This screen capture taken from the video, shows the front view of the plane.
From clues in the picture, I estimate that the fuselage diameter is around four metres. Which is not surprising, as the Airbus A320 has a height of 4.14 metres and a with of 3.95 metres.
So is the ZEROe Turboprop based on a shortened Airbus A 320 fuselage?
As the aircraft has a capacity of less than a hundred passengers and an Airbus A320 has six-abreast seating, could the aircraft have sixteen rows of seats.
With the seat pitch of an Airbus A 320, which is 81 centimetres, this means just under thirteen metres for the passengers.
The Technical Challenge
I don’t feel there are any great technical challenges in building this aircraft.
- The engines appear to be conventional and could even have been more-or-less fully developed.
- The fuselage could be a development of an existing design.
- The wings and tail-plane are not large and given the company’s experience with large composite structures, they shouldn’t be too challenging.
- The hydrogen storage and distributing system will have to be designed, but as hydrogen is being used in increasing numbers of applications, I doubt the expertise will be difficult to find.
- The avionics and other important systems could probably be borrowed from other Airbus products.
Given that the much larger and more complicated Airbus A380 was launched in 2000 and first flew in 2005, I think that a prototype of this aircraft could fly around the middle of this decade.
The Market Segment
It may seem small at less than a hundred seats, but it does have a range of greater than a 1000 nautical miles or 1150 miles.
Consider.
- It compares closely in passenger capacity, speed and range, with the De Havilland Canada Dash 8/400 and the ATR 72/600.
- The ATR 72 is part produced by Airbus.
- The aircraft is forty percent slower than an Airbus A 320.
- It is a genuine zero-carbon aircraft.
- It looks like it could be designed to have a Short-Takeoff-And Landing (STOL) capability.
On the other hand, a lot of busy routes, like London and Edinburgh and Berlin and Munich are less than or around 400 miles.
These short routes are being challenged aggressively by the rail industry, as over this sort of distance, which typically takes four hours by train, rail has enough advantages, that passengers may choose not to fly.
Examples of cities with a range of between 400 and 1000 miles from London include.
- Berlin – 571 miles
- Cork – 354 miles
- Inverness – 445 miles
- Lisbon – 991 miles
- Madrid – 781 miles
- Palma – 835 miles
- Rome – 893 miles
- Stockholm – 892 miles
- Warsaw – 900 miles
This aircraft would appear to be sized as an aircraft, that can fly further than passengers are happy to travel by train. But because of its cruising speed, the routes, where it will be viable would probably be limited in duration.
But important routes to, from and between secondary locations, like those that used to be flown by FlyBe, would surely be naturals for this aircraft.
It looks to be an aircraft that could have a big future.
The ZEROe Turbofan
This is Airbus’s summary of the design.
Two hybrid hydrogen turbofan engines provide thrust. The liquid hydrogen storage and distribution system is located behind the rear pressure bulkhead.
This screen capture taken from the video, shows the plane.
This screen capture taken from the video, shows the front view of the plane.
The aircraft doesn’t look very different different to an Airbus A320 and appears to be fairly conventional. It does appear to have the characteristic tall winglets of the A 320 neo.
The Turbofan Engines
These would be standard turbofan engines modified to run on hydrogen, fuelled from a liquid hydrogen tank behind the rear pressure bulkhead of the fuselage.
If you want to learn more about gas turbine engines and hydrogen, read this article on the General Electric web site, which is entitled The Hydrogen Generation: These Gas Turbines Can Run On The Most Abundant Element In the Universe,
Range And Performance
I will compare range, performance and capacity with the latest Airbus A 320.
ZEROe Turbofan
- Range – 2300 miles
- Cruising Speed – Mach 0.78
- Capacity – < 200 passengers
Airbus A 320
- Range – 3800 miles
- Cruising Speed – Mach 0.82
- Capacity – 190 passengers
There is not too much difference, except that the A 320 has a longer range.
The Cockpits Of The ZEROe Turboprop And The ZEROe Turbofan
This gallery puts the two cockpit images together.
Are they by any chance related?
Could the controls and avionics in both aircraft be the same?
A quick look says that like the Boeing 757 and 767, the two planes have a lot in common, which may enable a pilot trained on one aircraft to fly the other, with only minimal extra instruction.
And would it be a simple process to upgrade a pilot from an A 320 to a ZEROe Turbofan?
The Fuselages Of The ZEROe Turboprop And The ZEROe Turbofan
I estimated earlier that the fuselage of the Turboprop was based on the cross-section of the A320.
Looking at the pair of front views, I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that both aircraft are based on an updated A 320 fuselage design.
Passengers and flightcrew would certainly feel at home in the ZEROe Turbofan, if internally, it was the same size, layout and equipment as a standard A 320 or more likely an A 320 neo.
The Market Segment
These are my thoughts of the marketing objectives of the ZEROe Turbofan.
- The cruising speed and the number of passengers are surprisingly close, so has this aircraft been designed as an A 320 or Boeing 737 replacement?
- I suspect too, that it has been designed to be used at any airport, that could handle an Airbus A 320 or Boeing 737.
- It would be able to fly point-to-point flights between most pairs of European or North American cities.
It would certainly fit the zero-carbon shorter range airliner market!
In fact it would more than fit the market, it would define it!
The ZEROe Blended-Wing Body
This is Airbus’s summary of the design.
The exceptionally wide interior opens up multiple options for hydrogen storage and distribution. Here, the liquid hydrogen storage tanks are stored underneath the wings. Two hybrid hydrogen turbofan engines provide thrust.
This screen capture taken from the video, shows the plane.
This aircraft is proposed to have the same performance and capacity as the ZEROe Turbofan, which includes a 2000 nautical mile plus range.
The only other aircraft with a similar shape is the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit or Stealth Bomber. This is not a fast aircraft, but it is able to fly at an altitude of 50,000 ft, which compares to the 60,000 ft of Concorde and the 43,000 ft of an Airbus A 380.
I wonder, if the blended-wing body is designed to fly very high at around the 60,000 ft, which was Concorde territory.
It would only be doing 515 mph and would be well below the speed of sound.
So what is the point on going so high?
The air is very thin and there is a lot less drag.
It is also worth reading Wikipedia on the design of flying wings.
It might be possible to fly much further than 2000 nautical miles. After all Airbus did put in a plus sign!
Is this aircraft the long-distance aircraft of the three?
Extending The Range
I do wonder, if the engines in these aircraft could be capable of running on both hydrogen and aviation biofuel.
As the ZEROe Turboprop and the ZEROe Turbofan planes have empty wings, which in a conventional aircraft would hold fuel, could the space be used to hold aviation biofuel to extend the range?
Certification Of The Planes
The ZEROe Turboprop and ZEROe Turbofan are aircraft, where a lot of the design will already have been proven in previous aircraft, so will probably be much less onerous to approve, than the blended-wing body design.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that Airbus have designed three aircraft to cover the airline market.
I also feel that as the ZEROe Turboprop and ZEROe Turbofan, appear to have conventional airframes, that they could be delivered before 2035.
If I’m right, that the blended-wing body is a high flyer, it will be a ride to experience, travelling at that height all the way to New York.
The Anonymous Widower 