Liebherr-Aerospace is developing an air supply system for the fuel cell dedicated to the propulsion of Airbus hydrogen-powered demonstrator aircraft. The Toulouse-based company announced the project on April 11 as its contribution to the long-term ZeroE program that Airbus expects to result in a hydrogen airliner being ready to enter commercial service around 2035.
During the first study phase, Liebherr designed and delivered a functional 1-megawatt air supply system demonstrator, which it already has installed at Airbus testing facilities. During the second study phase, now in progress, Liebherr aims to design and qualify a safety-of-flight air supply demonstrator that could withstand the integration constraints in an operational environment close to the propulsion system. The demonstrator will support a flight test campaign to confirm the performance of a fuel cell propulsion system under operational conditions by the middle of the decade, said Liebherr, which is also working with automotive group General Motors on fuel cell technology.
Airbus, meanwhile, has accelerated work on the development of a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine as part of its studies into a zero-emission aircraft. The European airframer said it will start ground and flight testing the proposed fuel cell engine architecture onboard its ZeroE hydrogen-powered demonstrator aircraft toward the middle of this decade. Airbus has begun modifying the A380 MSN1 flight test aircraft for new hydrogen technologies to carry liquid hydrogen tanks and their associated distribution systems.
As part of its wider preparations for hydrogen-powered air transport, the European airframer has signed a partnership with space group Ariane to build a liquid hydrogen refueling system in Toulouse by 2025. It also continues work with green hydrogen specialist HyPort to have a hydrogen production, storage, and distribution facility in operation at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport this year.
Speaking during Airbus’s “sustainability summit” in Toulouse last November, company v-p for zero-emission aircraft Glenn Llewellyn said fuel cell engines could power a 100-passenger aircraft with a range of about 1,000 nm if developers manage to achieve all technology targets. “By continuing to invest in this technology we are giving ourselves additional options that will inform our decisions on the architecture of our future ZeroE aircraft, the development of which we intend to launch in the 2027-2028 timeframe,” he reported.
Airbus has identified hydrogen as one of the most promising alternatives to power a zero-emission aircraft because it emits no carbon dioxide when generated from renewable energy.
During the summit, Llewellyn explained the two primary ways one can use hydrogen as a power source for aircraft propulsion. The first involves hydrogen combustion in a gas turbine, and the second through the use of fuel cells stacked together to convert hydrogen into electricity to power a propeller engine. A hydrogen gas turbine can also work with fuel cells instead of batteries in a hybrid-electric architecture. Airbus continues work on both potential applications.
Airbus has explored the possibilities of fuel-cell propulsion systems for aviation for some time. In October 2020, Airbus created Aerostack, a joint venture with ElringKlinger, a company with more than 20 years of experience as both a fuel cell systems and component supplier. In December 2020, Airbus presented its pod concept, which included six removable fuel cell propeller propulsion systems.
