Amsterdam, NL - March 08, 2021 -
Hydrogen is increasingly being considered as one of the most promising zero-emission technologies for future aircraft. However, despite the fact that hydrogen has an energy-density-per-unit mass that is three times higher than traditional jet fuel, a number of challenges must be tackled before extensive adoption can happen.
The aviation industry is under pressure to control carbon-dioxide emissions by burning less kerosene. Ergo, talk of assembling hydrogen-manufacturing-and-delivery infrastructure for other purposes, such as heating and ground transport, is getting significant traction, meaning that hydrogen could well become available as a commodity, instead of having to be made specially. The balance of advantage may thus be changing. Therefore, some major aerospace companies and a few startups are looking at the idea of hydrogen-powered flight. The challenges of using hydrogen go beyond just body shape. Redesigning a turbine engine to power a hydrogen aircraft will be a multi-billion-dollar endeavour.
Publish date: December 2020 - Pages: 374