Airbus has revealed concepts of new hydrogen-powered zero-emission commercial aircraft that could enter service by 2035 on Monday.
It will have the “The three concepts – all codenamed ‘ZEROe’
The first would be a climate-neutral zero-emission commercial aircraft which will include a turbofan design and a capacity of 120-200 passengers with a range of 2,000+ nautical miles.
It would be capable of operating trans-continentally and would run on a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen, rather than jet fuel, through combustion.
Airbus India president Remi Maillard told reporters that, -we believe that hydrogen will increasingly become more cost-competitive in the future, because other industries, and not just aviation, will move towards hydrogen power sources.
The second concept is a turboprop design that can carry up to 100 passengers and will run on hydrogen combustion in modified gas-turbine engines.
The turboprop design would be capable of travelling more than 1,000 nautical miles which will be best for short-haul trips. Malliard also speaks of many other challenges like the availability of hydrogen, decarbonization of the production of hydrogen, and the airworthiness certification of a hydrogen-powered aircraft.
The airport would also need hydrogen transport and refuelling infrastructure to meet the needs of day-to-day operations. According to Maillard, the oil and gas network need to be transformers and is needed to be made suitable for hydrogen.
The third concept is a “blended-wing body” design carrying up to 200 passengers. In this design, the wings merge with the main body of the aircraft. It can also run trans-continentally.
As states, they could enter service by 2035. The reliance on hydrogen as a primary power source is difficult but this option by Airbus is an exceptional promise as clean aviation fuel and is likely to be a solution for aerospace and many other industries which will help in reading the climate-neutrality.
