TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Eskom is killing the rand

      30 June 2022

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022

      Signs Eskom crisis is creating diesel shortages

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Motoring and transport»Airbus unveils hydrogen-powered designs for zero-emission flight

    Airbus unveils hydrogen-powered designs for zero-emission flight

    Motoring and transport By Agency Staff21 September 2020
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    ZEROe is an Airbus concept aircraft. In the blended-wing body configuration, two hybrid hydrogen turbofan engines provide thrust. The liquid hydrogen storage tanks are stored underneath the wings. Image: Airbus

    European plane maker Airbus unveiled three designs it’s studying to build hydrogen-powered aircraft as it races to bring a zero-emission passenger plane into service by 2035.

    The approaches include a turbofan jet with capacity for as many as 200 passengers — similar to its A321neo narrow-body — that can fly more than 2 000 nautical miles, according to a statement on Monday. It would be powered by a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen.

    The manufacturer also showed a design for a propeller plane which would seat about 100 passengers for smaller distances, and a flying-wing concept with 200 seats.

    Airbus has already said it’s targeting the mid-2030s for the first emission-free commercial jet

    Airbus has already said it’s targeting the mid-2030s for the first emission-free commercial jet. It’s under pressure from the French and German governments, its biggest shareholders, to find environmental solutions after they pledged support for the plane maker and major airlines to get through the crisis caused by the coronavirus.

    While there are different approaches, hydrogen is likely to be used in aerospace and other industries to meet climate-neutral targets, Airbus said.

    Hydrogen power

    “I strongly believe that the use of hydrogen — both in synthetic fuels and as a primary power source for commercial aircraft — has the potential to significantly reduce aviation’s climate impact,” CEO Guillaume Faury said in the statement.

    Airbus said it plans to test the three designs over the next five years. In the turbofan design, liquid hydrogen will be stored and distributed through tanks located behind the rear pressure bulkhead. The turboprop will also use modified gas-turbine engines. The blended-wing plan, resembling a flying V, opens up new options for hydrogen storage and distribution, along with cabin layout.

    ZEROe is an Airbus concept aircraft. In the turbofan configuration, two hybrid hydrogen turbofan engines provide thrust. The liquid hydrogen storage and distribution system is located behind the rear pressure bulkhead. Image: Airbus
    ZEROe is an Airbus concept aircraft. In the turboprop configuration, two hybrid hydrogen turboprop engines provide thrust. The liquid hydrogen storage and distribution system is located behind the rear pressure bulkhead. Image: Airbus

    The company expects it will take another two years to choose suppliers and manufacturing sites before the programme is scheduled for around 2028 and the aircraft comes into service in 2035.

    The success of any such plane would depend on infrastructure at airports and support from governments to fund the development, as well as incentives for airlines to retire older aircraft, Airbus said.

    The French state is backing research into low-carbon flight and sees Airbus’s development of a hydrogen-powered plane as the best answer to “aviation bashing”, French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on LCI Television on Monday.  — Reported by Charlotte Ryan, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP

    Airbus Guillaume Faury Jean-Baptiste Djebbari top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleOpen source: Driving business and lowering costs
    Next Article Microsoft to buy Elder Scrolls developer for $7.5-billion

    Related Posts

    Eskom is killing the rand

    30 June 2022

    Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

    30 June 2022

    Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

    30 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.