Hydrogen Innovation Shows Aviation Its Future

Innovative technologies that can facilitate electric flying taxis and hydrogen-powered aircraft are being voraciously developed in the UK.

In 2019, the aviation industry was responsible for 2.4% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, in the UK, aviation (including both international and domestic flights) contributed to 8% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions; so the investment in hydrogen technology we’re seeing in aviation is not surprising.

Rolls-Royce have recently been granted £82.8 million to invest in three projects aimed at progressing liquid hydrogen jet engines.

Meanwhile budget airline easyjet (one of Rolls Royce’s collaborators on the hydrogen engine development) has demonstrated its bid to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, by placing its confidence in hydrogen-powered aircraft, anticipating that the zero-carbon technology will transform the environmental consequences of air travel in the next few decades.

Earlier in the year we saw a significant advancement in zero-emission aviation as ZeroAvia successfully flew the largest aircraft in the world powered by a hydrogen-electric engine. Conducting the inaugural flight of its 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed plane, ZeroAvia had retrofitted the aircraft with a full-scale prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain mounted on the left wing of the aircraft.

Hydrogen is considered the most feasible fuel source for Zero Emission Flight (ZEF) in the future. The New Aviation Propulsion Knowledge and Innovation Network has proposed that the entire regional fleet in the UK can be replaced with certified, safe, zero-carbon emission aircraft by 2040. Such a timeline underscores the necessity for an immediate overhaul of essential infrastructure to facilitate and sustain hydrogen operations.

The Jet Zero Strategy, published by the UK Government in 2022, set the ambitious target of achieving net zero flying by 2050. This objective poses a significant challenge for technology and industry. If current trends continue, aviation is projected to become one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century. Fulfilling this goal will necessitate large-scale and rapid decarbonisation, which will require innovation across all levels of the aviation industry. This includes developing new planes and fuels, as well as upgrading airports and infrastructure.

In the pursuit of decarbonising the aviation industry, the Jet Zero Strategy highlights the significant role that Zero Emission Flight can play. Therefore Airports and airfields are of course crucial in facilitating the objectives of ZEF.  Plans are urgently required for the necessary infrastructure, which must evolve rapidly to meet the demands of future operations and will need to be implemented with the utmost safety and minimal disruption to services.

Budget airline easyjet has demonstrated its bid to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, by placing its confidence in hydrogen-powered aircraft, anticipating that the zero-carbon technology will transform the environmental consequences of air travel in the next few decades.

The Department for Transport (DfT) launched the Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure (ZEFI) programme, to unite academia, regulators, and industry to recognise the workable infrastructure and vital needs of support systems necessary to enable Zero Emission Flight implementation in UK aviation. A report based on the infrastructure outlined in the ZEFI Blueprint develops a model that can recognise appropriate infrastructure options for airports and airfields. The Connected Places Catapult carried out the study and presented the findings.

This report details suitable infrastructure, referred to as ‘archetypes,’ for airports and airfields of various sizes to accommodate gaseous and liquid hydrogen-fuelled aircraft between 2030 and 2050. The study’s scope focuses on hydrogen-powered aviation, and the model includes the entire process, from the delivery of hydrogen fuel to the airport or airfield to its connection with the aircraft. The analysis considers airports with regular commercial flights, and presented hydrogen-powered take-off and landing of fixed-wing aircraft.

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