Airbus Prepares Fuel-Cell Propulsion Demonstrator Ground Trial
Airbus has built a hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system demonstrator, with a plan to trial a later generation of the equipment in flight tests on a modified A380 aircraft.
The demonstrator features stacked fuel-cells and a electric drive system for a propeller, and is “reaching MW class” power output, said Hauke Ludders, head of fuel-cell and propulsion activities for the company's zero-emission aircraft technology programme, during the Airbus summit on 30 November.
It was assembled by a team at the airframer’s German site in Hamburg and has been transferred to the company’s "E-Aircraft System House" test facility in Munich for ground trials in conjunction with ancillary equipment, including cooling and power management systems.
Ludders says the objective is to develop a fuel-cell propulsion system with “more than 2MW” shaft power. Four of these units could power a regional aircraft carrying more than 100 passengers, he adds.
Airbus is pursuing the project as an option to power its planned hydrogen-powered zero-emission aircraft, as a potential alternative to a hydrogen-burning gas turbine or in combination with a turbofan in a hybrid-electric architecture.
Fuel-cells would produce no carbon-dioxide or nitrogen oxide emissions in operation and create “no or almost no” contrails, the airframer says.
If adopted, Hauke is confident the fuel-cell propulsion system can be developed and certificated in time for the zero-emission aircraft’s planned entry into service in 2035.
Airbus highlights its co-operation with German automotive supplier ElringKlinger for the fuel-cell development. The two companies in 2020 established a joint venture named Aerostack. Stacking multiple fuel-cells has been central to increasing power output for aerospace applications.
The first demonstrator is designed to increase familiarity with the new technology and to gain initial operational insight, Airbus head of ZEROe demonstrators and tests Mathias Andriamisaina noted during the briefing. A second, flight-qualified demonstrator is planned by the end of 2023, he says.
Flight tests with a demonstrator propulsion system on Airbus’s A380 test aircraft (MSN1) are scheduled to follow between 2026 and 2028.
Airbus plans to decide about a launch of its zero-emission aircraft in 2027-2028.