Future Aircrafts: Hydrogen or electric ?

Reducing emissions that leads to costly taxes and restrictions plus a reduction in operating costs for airlines will the key drivers as OEMs look at new technology options for future aircrafts. This is the only element that most manufacturers are agreed upon.

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Reducing emissions that leads to costly taxes and restrictions plus a reduction in operating costs for airlines will the key drivers as OEMs look at new technology options for future aircrafts. This is the only that most manufacturers are agreed upon.

That apart there is a total lack of consensus on what should be the roadmap. European giant Airbus is clear that hybrid-electric propulsion is totally ill-suited for large aircrafts. They believe that Hydrogen engines is the way they reduce the environmental footprint, provide huge economic savings and do not disrupt dramatically the present aviation supply chain.

But these are not just thoughts that reverberate within the Airbus shopfloor. The company has formally called on government and regulators and aviation authorities to create the blueprint and the necessary infrastructure to facilities companies take the first step in this direction. Still, Airbus has called on governments and aviation authorities to plan the first steps to provide the necessary infrastructure to make hydrogen-powered planes viable.

In fact, in a release Airbus said: "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"

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.