LIGHTWEIGHTING
CLEANING THE SKIES
Could liquid hydrogen be the fuel that transforms the future?
A
energy-related CO2
ccording to the International Energy agency (IEA), aviation accounted for 2% of global emissions in 2022,
having grown faster in recent decades than rail, road or shipping. To curb growth in emissions, many technical measures related to low-emission fuels, improvements in airframes and engines, operational optimisation and demand restraint solutions are needed over the next decade in order to get the sector on track to meet its Net Zero emissions target by 2050. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)
offer a bridge for existing fleets, but are currently expensive, production- limited and still produce CO2
.
Hydrogen, by contrast, is carbon- free and surpasses kerosene for
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gravimetric efficiency, the crucial energy-to-weight ratio in aerospace. Liquid hydrogen also requires 80% less fuel tank space than gaseous to deliver the same energy due to its reduced volume. FlyZero, a research programme run by the UK Government-funded Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), has validated the feasibility of hydrogen- powered aircraft through physics- based models of three study aircraft of increasing size and range. Hydrogen-powered aircraft
will, however, require fuel cell or adapted turbine-based powertrains, cryogenic tanks and extensive hydrogen infrastructure at airports, posing a myriad of challenges to current innovation and technology development efforts.
THE HYDROGEN CONVERSATION Hydrogen’s huge potential for the aerospace sector has, naturally, started many conversations around the technological developments, regulation, funding and research and testing programmes that will be required to effectively leverage liquid hydrogen as a fuel for future aircraft. Speaking at Advanced Engineering in November, Peter Young, Chief Engineer of Ultrafan at Rolls-Royce, is observing positive signs in this area. “The thinking and understanding of how we handle hydrogen is developing within the industry, and it’s something we need to do together,” he said. “As organisations, we are all grappling with a relatively new substance and what it might do to traditional aerospace materials. We
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