Airbus unveils three zero-emission, hydrogen-fueled concept aircraft

In Toulouse, the city in whichHeadquarters of the European aircraft giant Airbus, at the beginning of this week three conceptual aircraft of the future, powered by hydrogen and providing zero greenhouse gases, were unveiled. The company said that it will be the world's first serial commercial passenger liners without harmful emissions of carbon. The commissioning of such aircraft in 2035 will make Airbus the world leader in decarbonization of the aviation industry.

At the heart of the Airbus 'clean' aircraft concept,the idea of ​​using hydrogen as the main energy source, which is the most promising clean aviation fuel at the current level of technology development, was used. All three Airbus concept models are codenamed ZEROe.

The first aircraft with a turbojet engineis designed to carry from 120 to 200 passengers at a distance of 2 thousand nautical miles or about 3 thousand 700 km. This range will allow aircraft of this type to operate on transcontinental lines. A modified gas turbine unit is used as engines, and liquid hydrogen will be located in tanks at the rear of the aircraft.

Second aircraft with turboprop engines,is designed to carry up to 100 passengers over a distance of about 1,000 nautical miles or about 1,850 km. Such aircraft models will be used on domestic routes for short-distance flights.

The third model is presented in designA "combination wing" or hybrid wing (blended-wing body, BWB), in which there is no clear delineation between the fuselage and the wing. The capacity of such an aircraft will be 200 passengers, and the range will be up to 2 thousand nautical miles, or about 3 thousand 700 km. The original design of the main body will allow engineers to create aircraft with a variety of hydrogen tank layouts and different cabin designs.

The introduction of innovative aircraft operating onhydrogen, will require radical changes in the infrastructure of airports associated with storage, delivery and refueling of aircraft. Such a task is impossible without government funding for all stages of the program: from design to the development of mechanisms for economic stimulation of replacing outdated aircraft with new clean aircraft. The Airbus CEO hopes the first zero-carbon commercial "hydrogen aircraft" will enter the service as early as 2035.

Source: electrek