• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Airbus Unveils Hydrogen Designs for Zero-Emission Flight

Airbus Unveils Hydrogen Designs for Zero-Emission Flight

Hydrogen Fuel
An employee adjusts a valve on the cold box for liquid hydrogen (LH2) production. Photo: Bloomberg.
September 23, 2020
Bloomberg

European planemaker Airbus SE unveiled three designs it’s studying to build hydrogen-powered aircraft as it races to bring a zero-carbon 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. 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.

Hydrogen is becoming an increasing area of focus for Airbus as it evaluates technologies for emission-free flight. The company is under pressure from the French and German governments, its biggest shareholders, to speed development of new aircraft after aiding the planemaker during the coronavirus crisis. Together, the two countries have committed some 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) toward cleaner propulsion.

While there are different approaches, hydrogen is likely to be used in aerospace and other industries to meet climate-neutral targets, Airbus said. The company has already said it’s targeting the mid-2030s for the first zero-emission passenger jet. Developing a hydrogen aircraft on that timeline will be a real challenge because of the massive amounts of infrastructure and government investment required.

“The question is how big can we go with batteries,” said Glenn Llewellyn, vice president of zero-emissions technology at Airbus, in a briefing. “We don’t believe that it’s a today-relevant technology for commercial aircraft and we see hydrogen having more potential.”

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, while at the same time hydrogen fuel cells will create electric power that complements the gas turbine. 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. It is the most challenging out of the three designs, according to the company’s chief engineer, Jean-Brice Dumont.

If the company gets everything right immediately it can consider moving ahead with the “revolutionary” V-shaped model, he said. Otherwise it is likely to choose one of the other two, more classic designs and look at developing such an aircraft later.

The company, based in Toulouse, France, plans to launch several hydrogen demonstrator programs over the next few months. It expects it will take another two years to choose suppliers and manufacturing sites before the program is scheduled for around 2028, and the aircraft comes into service in 2035. The program will likely cost Airbus billions, said Dumont.

Infrastructure Requirements

The success of any such program would depend on infrastructure at airports and support from governments to fund development, as well as incentives for airlines to retire older aircraft, Airbus said. The company has already started discussions with airports, airlines and energy companies. It is also calling on governments to put the right incentives in place to push the industry to shift toward hydrogen power.

The French state is backing research into low-carbon flight and sees Airbus’ development of a hydrogen powered plane as the best answer to “aviation bashing,” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on LCI Television Monday.

    RELATED CONTENT

    RELATED VIDEOS

    Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Aerospace & Defense Chemicals & Energy
    KEYWORDS Aerospace & Defense Chemicals & Energy Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
    Bloomberg

    OPEC+ Agrees on Deeper Output Cuts to Avoid Renewed Surplus

    More from this author

    Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

    Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

    Popular Stories

    • A YELLOW CORP TRAILER IS BEING TRANSPORTED BY A FREIGHT TRAIN.

      Yellow Considering Offer to Revive Company, Rehire Thousands

      Global Logistics
    • A ROW OF MEDICAL DEVICES IN A WAREHOUSE

      Hospitals Face Mounting Shortages of Essential Medical Supplies

      Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • AMAZON TRUCK ON HIGHWAY

      Amazon is Now the Biggest Delivery Business in the U.S.

      Last Mile Delivery
    • GROUND VIEW OF THE SHANGHAI CITY SKYLINE BENEATH A BLUE SKY.

      China’s Slowing Economy Is Putting a Damper on Its Plans for Global Dominance

      Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • SHIPS SAIL THROUGH THE SUEZ CANAL

      The Panama Canal Is So Backed Up Ships Are Rerouting Through the Suez

      Ocean Transportation

    Digital Edition

    Scb nov 2023 lg

    2023 Supply Chain Innovation Award

    VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

    Case Studies

    • A GRAPHIC SHOWING MULTIPLE FORMS OF SHIPPING, WITH A HUMAN STANDING AT THE CENTER, TOUCHING A SYMBOLIC MAP OF THE WORLD

      Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

    • A GRAPHIC OF INTERLACING HONEYCOMBED ELEMENTS REPRESENTING GLOBAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

      Moving Robots Site-to-Site

    • JLL Finds Perfect Warehouse Location, Leading to $15M Grant for Startup

    • Robots Speed Fulfillment to Help Apparel Company Scale for Growth

    • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

    Visit Our Sponsors

    Antuit Zebra Anvyl AutoStore
    BEUMER Group Blue Ridge Global Brightdrop
    Brother CHEP Cleo
    Coenterprise Comarch Data Capture
    E2open Enveyo Eva Air
    ForwardX Robotics Frayt GAINSystems
    Generix Geodis GEP
    Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit GreyOrange Here
    HICX Holman Logistics Infor
    Inmar Kinaxis Lexis Nexis
    Locus Robotics Logility LogistiVIEW
    Lucas Systems MCA Connect MCA Connect
    Moody’s Analytics MPO Old Dominion
    OneRail Overhaul PartnerLinQ (Visionet)
    Port of Virginia Rockwell Automation Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash
    Saddle Creek Logistics SAP Servicon
    Shyft Sourcemap SPS Commerce
    Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
    Veho Verusen Walmart
    Workshop
    • More From SCB
      • Featured Content
      • Video Library
      • Think Tank Blog
      • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
      • Whitepapers
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
    • Digital Offerings
      • Digital Issue
      • Subscribe
      • Manage Your Subscription
      • Newsletters
    • Resources
      • Events Calendar
      • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
      • Supplier Directory
      • Case Study Showcase
      • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
      • 100 Great Partners Form
    • SCB Corporate
      • Advertise on SCB.COM
      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact Us
      • Data Sharing Opt-Out

    All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing