It was reported on May 28 that Airbus is establishing an organization focusing on the research and development of hydrogen powered aircraft in the UK to try to design and manufacture a new generation of aircraft that can achieve zero carbon emissions. In a statement released this week, Airbus said that the zero emission Development Center (zedc) in Bristol Felton, UK, had begun to develop relevant technologies.
One of the main objectives of this organization is to carry out research around what Airbus calls "a cost competitive cryogenic fuel system". Zeroe, the world's first zero emission commercial aircraft previously announced by the company, needs this system.
Airbus announced the details of three zero emission "hybrid hydrogen powered" concept aircraft named after zeroe as early as September 2020. Airbus has said that it hopes to develop a "zero emission commercial aircraft" by 2035.
In addition to zedc in the UK, Airbus has similar research institutions in Spain, Germany and France. The company said: "all Airbus zedc institutions are expected to be fully put into use in 2023 and ready for ground testing. The first fully functional low-temperature hydrogen fuel system will begin flight testing in 2026."
The aviation industry has a great impact on the environment. The World Wildlife Fund described it as "one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions affecting global climate change". WWF also said that air travel is "the highest carbon emission activity that individuals participate in at present".
Just this week, environmental groups launched a legal action against KLM, saying that KLM misled the public in terms of flight sustainability.
KLM received the notice of prosecution on the same day as the company's annual general meeting. A spokesman confirmed that the company had received the indictment and said it would study the contents of the indictment.
Earlier this year, Guillaume faury, Airbus CEO, said in an interview, "if we can not decarbonize at the right speed, the aviation industry may face major problems."
In the interview, Frey described some areas that Airbus is focusing on. These measures include ensuring that aircraft use less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide.
In addition, the aircraft delivered by Airbus has been certified, and 50% of its fuel tanks contain sustainable aviation fuel.
"We need to see the sustainable aviation fuel industry moving forward, growing and serving airlines. Half of the fuel tanks are sustainable aviation fuel," Frey said "By the end of the 1920s, we will have reached 100%."
Frey explained that the above content is "a very important part of what is being done". "The next goal is to bring hydrogen powered aircraft to the market in the medium and long term, because this is the real ultimate solution," he said, noting that it requires a lot of engineering, research and capital investment.
The International Energy Agency describes hydrogen as a "multi-functional energy carrier", which has a wide range of applications and can be applied to all walks of life.
At present, hydrogen can be produced in many ways. One way is to electrolyze water to break down hydrogen and oxygen.
If the electricity used in the hydrogen electrolysis process comes from renewable energy such as wind or solar energy, such hydrogen can be defined as green hydrogen or renewable hydrogen. But at present, most hydrogen production is based on fossil fuels.
Airbus is not the only company that plans to use hydrogen fuel in aviation. In October last year, zeroavia, an airline, announced a plan to operate a commercial hydrogen electric flight between London in the UK and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and hoped that the aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells would take off in 2024.
At that time, zeroavia said that they were developing a 19 seat aircraft that "flew entirely on hydrogen power". In September, 2020, the company completed the first flight of a 6-seat hydrogen fuel cell aircraft. (Chenchen)