Airbus plans to test-fly hydrogen-powered aircraft in 2026. European aviation giant Airbus announced that it will cooperate with engine manufacturer CFM to build a test aircraft to verify the propulsion technology of hydrogen-powered aircraft. Airbus plans to test-fly hydrogen-fueled aircraft in 2026.

Airbus plans to test hydrogen-fueled aircraft 1 in 2026. Under the pressure of green transformation, the European aviation giant Airbus, a big carbon emitter, said on February 22nd that it planned to test the hydrogen-powered engine on the modified A380 aircraft, bringing low emission prospects for commercial air travel.

Airbus said that it is cooperating with the engine manufacturer CFM International, and the test flight will begin in 2026. If all goes well, Airbus expects this hydrogen-fueled passenger plane to be put into use in 2035.

General Electric and CFM, a subsidiary of Safran Group, are the highest-selling jet engine manufacturers in the world. CFM said last year that the company's next-generation jet engine named RISE will be able to use fuel including hydrogen, and hopes to provide such engines for large aircraft from 2035.

According to the American Consumer News and Business Channel, Richard Aboulafia, managing director of Aerodynamic Consulting, an aviation consulting company, said that one of the major challenges of using hydrogen fuel is that additional equipment is needed to store fuel, which will increase the weight of the aircraft, thus reducing the number of passengers or personnel on the aircraft.

However, Airbus said that A380 was chosen because it is the largest passenger plane in the world and has enough space to store liquid hydrogen tanks and other equipment.

Another big carbon emitter, Boeing, Airbus's biggest competitor, is indifferent to hydrogen fuel, but more concerned about sustainable aviation fuel, which currently accounts for less than 65,438+0% of aviation fuel supply and is more expensive than traditional aviation fuel.

Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing Company, said at the investor meeting in June 20021that he was not optimistic about the application of hydrogen fuel in flight attendants, and said: "It is estimated that the scale of hydrogen-powered aircraft will not reach what we call the aircraft scale before 2050, and hydrogen power may be effective for some very small aircraft."

Airbus plans to test-fly hydrogen-powered aircraft in 2026. On Tuesday (February 22nd) local time, European aviation giant Airbus announced that it would cooperate with engine manufacturer CFM to build a test aircraft to verify the propulsion technology of hydrogen-powered aircraft.

It is reported that Airbus will install a specially modified engine at the tail of an A380 super-large test aircraft, and the test flight will begin in 2026.

General Electric and CFM, a subsidiary of Safran Group, are the highest-selling jet engine manufacturers in the world. CFM said last year that its next-generation jet engine named RISE will be able to use fuel including hydrogen, and CFM hopes to provide such engines for large aircraft from 2035.

As a major carbon emitter, the aviation industry is also facing the pressure of green transformation. Airbus and Boeing, two major aircraft manufacturers, have chosen different development routes. Airbus is actively promoting the application of hydrogen fuel in the aviation field and plans to put it into use in 2035.

Boeing, on the other hand, is indifferent to hydrogen fuel and pays more attention to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAF currently accounts for less than 65,438+0% of aviation fuel supply, which is more expensive than conventional aviation fuel.

For the application of hydrogen fuel in aviation, Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aviation consulting company, said that one of the major challenges in using hydrogen fuel is that storing this fuel requires additional equipment, which will increase the weight of the aircraft, thus reducing the number of passengers or personnel on the aircraft.

On the other hand, Airbus said that A380 was chosen because it is the largest passenger plane in the world and has enough space to store liquid hydrogen tanks and other equipment.

Airbus plans to test-fly hydrogen-fueled aircraft 3 in 2026. Just now, Airbus signed a cooperation agreement with CFM International, a flat-share joint venture company of General Electric and Safran Aircraft Engine Company, and the two parties will start a hydrogen demonstration project around 2025.

The project aims to conduct ground and flight tests on hydrogen-fueled engines and prepare for putting zero-emission aircraft into use before 2035. The demonstration project will use an A380 test aircraft as a flight test platform, equipped with liquid hydrogen tanks prepared by Airbus factories in France and Germany. Airbus will also be responsible for formulating the requirements of hydrogen propulsion system, supervising flight tests and providing A380 platform for testing hydrogen-fueled engines during the cruise phase.

In order to run on hydrogen fuel, CFM International will transform the combustion chamber, fuel system and control system of GE PassportTM engine. The engine was assembled in the United States and was selected for this project because of its physical size, advanced turbine machinery and fuel flow capacity. It will be installed in the rear fuselage of the flight test platform to independently monitor the emissions of engines (including wakes) and engines that power the aircraft. Before the A380 test flight, CFM will complete a lot of ground tests.

With the help of investment funds, green hydrogen fuel projects have sprouted, start-ups are studying the use of transport modules including airships, and power system developers are also making their own schedules for them to be put into use more or less.

Airbus believes that it can at least get rid of the latter's help. In an interview with German media WELT AM SONNTAG this weekend, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that Airbus is ready to produce hydrogen-powered engines internally.

Airbus recently announced that it will recruit 6,000 employees in the first half of 2022. The recruitment will focus on supporting the company's decarbonization efforts. A quarter of new employees will be engaged in new carbon-free technologies, network security and digital transformation.

The French OEM executive also added that carbon-free supporting infrastructure is crucial for the transition of aviation to zero carbon emissions. As the industry turns to renewable energy, green electricity may compete.