MTU Aero Engines this week launched plans to develop a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system for commuter and regional aircraft. The German aircraft engine manufacturer unveiled its Flying Fuel Cell (FFC) concept on Monday at the Paris Airshow, confirming that it now will increase its 100-strong team of engineers as it works towards getting the system into commercial service in 2035.
According to MTU senior v-p for engineering and technology Stefan Weber, the company expects to increase the performance of the liquid hydrogen FFC to allow it to support short- and medium-haul flights in larger aircraft by 2050. “The FFC reduces the impact [of flying] on the environment by as much as 95 percent, so it’s practically zero,” he said.
The electric motor for the FFC is being developed by EmoSys, which since April has been a subsidiary of MTU. The German company’s motors already are used in applications such as automotive, car racing, rail, and medical science. The motor has a diameter of just 300 millimeters (12 inches) and weighs around 40 kg (88 pounds). The company designed it to produce a continuous output of 600 kW and an energy density of 15 kWh/kg.
MTU’s chief engineer for the Flying Fuel Cell, Barnaby Law, said that “the motor has extraordinarily high efficiency at continuous takeoff power and produces relatively low thermal loads.” The fluid-cooled motor can operate at temperatures of up to 85 C and can be installed in multi-stack configurations.
Work on the FFC project has received backing from Germany’s DLR aerospace research center. A Dornier 228 twin turboprop aircraft owned by DLR serves as a technology platform and flight demonstrator.
The partners plan to replace one of the aircraft’s two turboprop engines with a 600 kW powertrain using energy from MTU’s new fuel cell. Ground testing will accelerate between now and the middle of the 2020s, when the FFC team expects to start flight testing.
MTU already started discussions with EASA to establish the approval requirements for the propulsion system. The Munich-based group is entering a sector that so far has largely been addressed by start-ups such as ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen, which are working to convert existing regional airliners to electric propulsion.